The Virus
by Angel Hunter
Summary: This is my first story... On a mission, Zell falls ill... Can the FF characters find the cure in time, or will Zell die? Please RR! Chapter 9 Uploaded
1. Infliction

A/N: I do not own these characters, they are copyrighted by Squaresoft. I would love it if I weren't true but... Alas. The song in the story is called 'You're my Best Friend', by Queen, one of the greatest bands there's ever been. I don't own that song, either. The plot is mine though.  
  
The Virus  
  
Chapter 1: Infliction  
  
The third straight day of rain. It was sickening to him. This mission would have been so much easier if they weren't crawling through mudslides and getting stuck every three seconds.  
  
He gave his Ehrgeiz a soft tug, a nervous habit of his. This mission was never going to work unless they had absolute stealth.  
  
For the fifth time that hour, a wave of dizziness over came him, and he staggered, his hand sinking deep into the mud at his side when he tried to support himself.  
  
Squall looked back, concern etched on his face. "You all right?"  
  
Zell waved the comment away like it wasn't important. "Just tired."  
  
Rinoa, now a high-ranking SeeD, also looked concerned. "Are you sure? You keep on stumbling..."  
  
"Don't worry about me, Rin." Zell smiled, but he was thankfull nonetheless that he had friends who cared. There was no one he'd rather call friends than the two people who had been by his side at the final fight with Ultimecia.  
  
All three stopped, but Squall first, all his muscles tensing.  
  
"Sh... Something's there." The SeeD Commander stepped forwards, drawing Lionheart to battle position.  
  
Out of the brush and foliage stepped three Toramas, their teeth bared, ready to attack.  
  
The battle began, but it was difficult. The mud was holding fast to their boots, making any form of physical attack much harder to pull off.  
  
Squall ran forwards and did a slash, pulling the trigger on Lionheart. One of the Toramas fell, defeated easily by who must have been the strongest guy on Earth.  
  
Rinoa cast double on herself, ready to finish a Torama with a double Flare.  
  
Zell started forwards to do his punch combo, a simple attack, when a wave of nausea and pain hit him, causing him to double over before he could attack.  
  
The two Toramas both headed to him, licking their chops, but a flare spell hit both, knocking them backwards into trees.  
  
The creatures ran away, defeated, at the same time Rinoa and Squall ran to Zell.  
  
He was so dizzy his friend's faces seemed like blobs of flesh-colored jelly. He felt like he was going to throw up if he moved a muscle.  
  
"Zell, are you all right?!" Rinoa asked, laying a hand on his forehead. "He's feverish, Squall. Zell's sick."  
  
"It may be nothing serious, but just in case, we have to get back to Garden. Zell, I'm going to pick you up, all right?"  
  
Zell's reply was a soft groan of protest. But he quickly managed, "I dunno, man... I think I'm gonna throw up..."  
  
"Not on me." Squall replied, and pulled Zell to a sitting position.  
  
Zell's entire world began to spin, and he gagged.  
  
Rinoa watched the gross scene, and then she asked, "What about sleep and curaga?"  
  
Squall nodded. "Cure doesn't work on illness. Try esuna and sleep."  
  
Rinoa nodded and casted esuna first.  
  
Zell sighed as his vision stopped fuzzing and his friend's scared faces came back into view. "Oh... That's better."  
  
Then she casted sleep, and Zell's head immediately dropped down to rest on his chest.  
  
Squall lifted him onto his back and nodded to Rinoa. "Let's get him back to the ragnarok, and then'll we'll tell Headmaster Cid our mission is failed because Zell has gotten ill."  
  
"And we'll call for back up, right? To complete the mission?"  
  
Squall nodded. "But first all we have to think about is getting Zell back to the ship. It's going to take a long time, I hope you have a full supply of sleep spells."  
  
Rinoa nodded. "It's my Def-J, but oh well. I'll use curaga instead."  
  
*****  
  
"This is Commander Leonhart, requesting backup on a failed mission."  
  
"Failed? What happened?" Headmaster Cid asked, his voice full of concern. "Did Rinoa get injured?"  
  
"No, Zell got sick. We're bringing him back to Garden to have him treated. Rinoa and I will get back to the mission a.s.a.p."  
  
"No need. I wouldn't take you away from a friend when he's ill. I'll send Nida and someone else. It's not a tough mission, no one will think less of you if you leave because you care about someone's well-being."  
  
Rinoa stepped into the cockpit, fear on her face.  
  
"Commander Leonhart signing off, over." Squall finished and turned off the radio. "Rinoa, what's wrong?"  
  
"I took his temperature, Squall... It's at one hundred and five, and it seems to be climbing."  
  
Squall looked at the controls, then at Rinoa. "Can you handle this for a while?"  
  
"Sure." Rinoa nodded, and the two switched places.  
  
Squall headed down to the sick bay, and opened the door. True to what Rinoa had said, Zell looked considerably worse.  
  
His open eyes were glazed over, his face was flushed, and a fine layer of sweat glistened on his skin.  
  
"Zell." Squall crossed the room and placed a hand on his forehead.  
  
Zell slowly shut his eyes and whimpered. "God, Squall, it's so hot in here..."  
  
Squall silently went over his stocked magic, and then he casted an esuna.  
  
Zell gave a shaky sigh, but Squall could feel that his temperature had dropped already to a less dangerous level.  
  
He turned to the cabinets and pulled it open. He took a washcloth and then walked to the sink.  
  
Zell shifted his position on the bed behind Squall, and he softly groaned.  
  
Squall filled the sink about one quarter full, and casted blizzard on it.  
  
The top layer of water froze, like Squall had expected, and when he broke his hand and the cloth through, the water under the ice was freezing. He pulled the cloth out, wrung the dripping water from it, and carried it to Zell. "Lay on your back."  
  
Zell slowly rolled back off his side, his breathing coming out in a quick gasps as he moved.  
  
Squall placed the cloth against's Zell's forehead, and smiled when Zell let out a sigh of what could only be relief.  
  
"That's a little better..."  
  
Squall spent a little more time wiping the sweat off Zell's face and neck, then he casted sleep and left the cloth lying across his forehead to bring the temperature down.  
  
"I never knew you could be so caring." Came Rinoa's amused voice over the intercom. She had watched it all from the the moniter above the pilot's chair, since they had cameras placed in the sick bay to keep an eye on the injured without crashing the ship.  
  
Squall shook his head and pressed the button to send his own message back. "You were in a coma last time I was so caring. And besides, I'm the one out of the two of us who has had extensive medical training."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in." Rinoa laughed, then added, "Come on back up here, it looks like Zell's sleeping peacefully. More than he was when I was down there."  
  
Squall looked back, and it was true that Zell wasn't moving a muscle, except for the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. It was a tad bit quick for Squall's liking, but it was better that nothing. "All right, I'll be right up." Squall answered, and stepped out of the sick bay, shutting the door softly behind him.  
  
*****  
  
"Just about there." Squall informed Rinoa, who was half asleep in the chair next to him.  
  
She lazily opened one eye, then peered up at the moniter for the sick bay. "Zell's still sleeping, and I can see him breathing. I think he might just have a bit of a virus."  
  
Squall nodded, but still felt concerned. "Might be. But better safe than sorry. Zell's never sick, so of course I'll be worried."  
  
"Worried, you? Mr. Serious?" Rinoa joked, stretching her arms.  
  
"....whatever." Squall replied, equally as jokingly.  
  
"I'm going to go check on Zell and maybe try another esuna or an elixir."  
  
"No elixirs. They work on HP only." Squall told her, his eyes fixed on the compass. They were still right on course for Balamb.  
  
"Ok, ok." Rinoa nodded and got up. She left the cockpit and walked down the hall, stopping for a second to check how many esunas she had left.  
  
"Rinoa."  
  
She jumped, but recognized Squall's voice. She searched for an intercom, then pressed the button. "What now?"  
  
"Zell's out."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"He just exited the sick bay. I can't tell if he's sleeping, or if he's just feeling better. He probably feels guilty the mission has ended."  
  
"I'll find him." Rinoa promised, and took her finger off the button at the same second Zell turned the corner into the corridor she was in. "Zell, there you are! Squall was scared for you." She scolded, walking up to him.  
  
He looked horrible. There were already dark circles under his eyes, and he was trembling. "Rin, I'm so sorry. You guys had to cancel the mission 'cause of me..."  
  
"It's all right, Zell. Squall doesn't care, and neither do I. Headmaster Cid understands and he's sending three other SeeDs to finish the job." She put a hand on his forehead and made a face. "You're burning up."  
  
"It's hard to sleep..." Zell explained, his eyes half closing at Rinoa's cool touch. "It's so hot, I just wanted to find a cooler place to lay down... It's hot here too..." And with those words, Zell's legs gave out and he collapsed.  
  
Rinoa just barely caught him, and she sat down on the floor with him, allowing his head to rest back on her shoulder.  
  
"Rinoa, is everything all right?" Squall's voice came, and Rinoa frantically tried to reach the com from where she was sitting, but it was way too far from her. "I'll just set it the listen mode, so you can talk... I guess you might not be able to reach me." There was a buzz, then a soft humming.  
  
"Squall, I found him! He passed out in the hallway, and I can't move him!" Rinoa called out, her voice echoing through the empty hall. "I'm in the second floor hallway, third room. The one we came in from in space."  
  
It click, then Rinoa heard, "We're almost there. I'll inform Balamb Garden to be ready with a stretcher, and Dr. Kadowaki." And then everything was silent.  
  
"Rin..." Zell mumbled softly, his eyes still closed.  
  
"What is it?" She asked, scared for her sick friend.  
  
"Can... can you sing to me?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"My ma used to do it when I was sick..."  
  
"Well... Ok... What do you want me to sing?"  
  
"Just any song..."  
  
"All right..." Rinoa took a breath and started to sing a song she'd heard on the radio. "Ooh you make me live. Whatever this world can give to me, It's you, you're all I see. Ooh, you make me live now honey, ooh you make me live... Oh, you're the best friend, that I ever had, I've been with you such a long time, you're my sunshine, and I want you to know, that my feelings are true, I really love you, oh, you're my best friend..."  
  
From the cockpit, Squall closed his eyes breifly. Rinoa sung just like Julia had.  
  
*****  
  
"Rinoa, prepare for landing." Squall said over the intercom, as he slowly brought the Ragnarok down into the hangar that had recently been built for it.  
  
"Aye aye captain." Came the reply, once he had switched to listening mode.  
  
"How's Zell doing?"  
  
"Not sure. He's been tossing and turning, but he's still sleeping."  
  
"Good. If he wakes up, make sure he doesn't move himself around too much. I want him as calm as possible going into the infirmary."  
  
"No problem." Rinoa said loudly, and that was the end of the conversation.  
  
Squall finished the landing perfectly, and let out a sigh. He hated cutting missions short, and that had only happened about three times. Once because Irvine shot himself in the foot, and the other time because their subject target had been murdered. Now this. "How's it going, Rin?"  
  
"Smooth. Zell's awake, but he's calm."  
  
"Zell, how are you feeling?" Squall asked, concern barely creeping into his calm voice.  
  
"Like shit." Came the raspy reply.  
  
"Rin, make sure to tell Dr. K to give him plenty of water when she gets him in. Throat sounds sore."  
  
"Ok."  
  
Squall opened the doors next to the room Rinoa was in, then got up to see how everything was going.  
  
*****  
  
"Ok, and lift." Dr. Kadowaki instructed.  
  
The two trained girls lifted Zell off the ground and placed him carefully on the stretcher.  
  
Rinoa bit her lip nervously, scared for her best friend.  
  
"He'll be fine as soon as I know what's wrong." Dr. K smiled, patting Rinoa on the shoulder. "No sense getting worked up for nothing important."  
  
"What about his fever?"  
  
"It's rather high, but you have nothing in here to bring it down with. I'll give him some medicine that should work for that. Aa, Squall. Just the man I wanted to speak with."  
  
"How is he, Doctor?" Squall asked as he stepped into the room.  
  
"Fine, just fine." She explained, but she had questions she wanted to ask as well. "Now, when did he first start showing signs of illness?"  
  
"I guess it was during the mission. He had a few dizzy spells."  
  
"How many?"  
  
"About five, and it all started about the same time. Every few minutes he would stagger."  
  
"And when did he become too weak to complete the mission?"  
  
"We encountered three Toramas, and Zell collapsed before he could start fighting."  
  
"And the fever?"  
  
"Right after he collapsed."  
  
"It came on suddenly, then?" Dr. Kadowaki could not hold back her look of concern.  
  
"Why, what's wrong?" Rinoa cried, clutching onto Squall's arm tightly. "Is it bad?"  
  
"Well, it could possibly be just a stomach virus... But... There's one illness I've heard of that it could very well be."  
  
"Well, just give him the medicine he needs, then." Squall nodded.  
  
"That's the problem. This illness is so rare, a case of it hasn't been seen in so many years... I don't have the ingredients to make the cure."  
  
"Where do you get them from, then? I can make a run to get them."  
  
"Well... It was once called Noble, but now it's being called 'The Nameless Island'. There's the Skeleton Pennisula, and the knuckle joint for the index finger-"  
  
"There's some strange monsters there." Rinoa interrupted. "I read about them in myths. Monsters have been inter breeding into new species of more and more deadly and ferocious things... The ingredients are there?"  
  
"The main one is. It's a very rare plant that you can only find at the heart of the Island, the heart of the forest." Dr. Kadowaki explained, exiting the Ragnarok.  
  
"Why talk about this yet? We don't even know if that's what it is." Squall pointed out as they headed back into the Garden. "If that's what it is, we can talk about when and how to get this plant, and I'll bring it back for Zell."  
  
*****  
  
"How're you doing?" Selphie asked softly, stepping into the infirmary room.  
  
Zell smiled weakly. "Feeling a bit better..."  
  
"Oh, that's good... What's wrong with you?" She sat down in the chair next to the bed, and Zell pushed himself to a sitting position, despite the dizziness.  
  
"Dunno yet... Dr. K says it might just be the flu or something... But I don't know... I don't get sick easily, and with my luck, when I do, it's always something big."  
  
Selphie patted his arm. "Don't be pessimistic, Zell. It can't be that bad."  
  
Another incredible wave of dizziness washed over him, and he put a hand against his forehead. "Oh, man... I gotta lay back down..." He settled into the uncomfortable bed again, and had just shut his eyes when Squall came into the room.  
  
The SeeD commander looked... No, it couldn't be... But it was! He looked almost like he had been crying. Well, ok, sure, it wasn't a huge surprise since Rinoa and everyone else had brought him out of his shell. He was a lot more open than ever, though he still kept somethings to himself. "Zell..." He started, shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Don't tell me, I know." Zell held up a hand and sighed. "Let me guess, I've got that rare illness, and you and the others have to go to Noble to find the cure, right?"  
  
"And you're staying here." Squall finished.  
  
Zell sat up. "No way. Uh-uh. I'm not staying here in the infirmary with nothing to do but wait to die! I'm going. Even if I have to latch myself to your leg permanently."  
  
"Zell-"  
  
"I'll make your life a living hell if you don't take me along, Squall. I won't get in the way. I'll pretend I'm not sick." Zell very shakily got to his feet and put his hands on his hips. "See, I'm feeling better. All I needed was a couple pills and a few esunas and that's it! I can walk." Zell took a step forwards, but wisely held his hand onto Selphie's shoulder to support himself. His knees were shaking, and he started to sweat with the effort it took to stay up.  
  
"Zell, you're not healthy enough to be doing anything. It's dangerous."  
  
"So leave me on the Ragnarok with Rinoa! I'll at least be happy... Please?" Zell begged, putting both hands on Squall's shoulders now. "Pretty please?"  
  
Squall sighed very defeatedly. "Fine. But you stay on the Ragnarok. No last second 'Oops, I lied, I'm going with you into the dangerous situation', understand?"  
  
"Understood." Zell managed, then fell back onto the bed with a breath of relief. "And it's about time."  
  
A/N: All right! In the next chapter, the gang will board the Ragnarok with supplies for Zell, and everyone else. 


	2. Cursed

A/N: Somwhere between my empty head and my constant writers block, I did something right. I'm amazed that my only reviews at the time I am writing this do more than encourage me to go on.  
  
Someone wrote 'God Bless' and it means much to me.  
  
All the other comments and encouragement I'm grateful for, so here, without further ado, is Chapter 2 of 'The Virus'.  
  
I already wrote my disclaimer, and nothing has changed except the chapter.  
  
The Virus  
  
Chapter 2: Cursed  
  
"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" Quistis asked softly, her hand on Zell's warm forehead.  
  
"No problem. I'm as strong as an ox." Zell's statement lacked conviction, it was like he was trying to convince himself of his strength and weakness.  
  
"He'll be fine, Quistis." Rinoa assured her with a smile. "I won't take my eyes off him."  
  
"All right. Remember, if his temperature goes up-"  
  
"Buzz the cockpit, I remember."  
  
"And-"  
  
"Cast esuna. Stop fussing." Rinoa said calmly, and shooed the older woman out. "Go on now, I'm sure you don't want to hang out with us two."  
  
Quistis reluctantly left the barracks, leaving Rinoa and Zell by themselves.  
  
There was a long silence, then Zell asked, "Do you think I'll die, Rin?"  
  
Rinoa looked shocked. "Don't even say something like that, Zell! Of course you won't!"  
  
"I feel guilty..." He confessed, with a soft sigh. "What if one of you gets injured on this stupid trip to save me? What if someone else dies? I'll never be able to forgive myself..."  
  
"Zell, don't think about it too much." Rinoa soothed. "We'd do this for you no matter what. You're my best friend, and Squall's too. We couldn't just sit by and watch you get sicker and sicker."  
  
"It means a lot to me." Zell thanked her, and shut his eyes.  
  
Rinoa looked over to say something else, but Zell had fallen asleep.  
  
*****  
  
"This is ridiculous." Irvine muttered, earning him a nasty look from Selphie. "No, don't look at me like that, I didn't mean saving Zell is ridiculous!"  
  
"Well that's sure what it sounded like." She told him, stealing his hat and putting it on. "What did you mean?"  
  
"I meant the fact that no scientist bothered to go out there and get the cure times, like, fifteen! Then when the rare thing happened and someone got sick... We'd have the cure in a second!"  
  
"Well, it's not like that." Squall said from where he was sitting in the pilot's seat. "The cure only exists on this island in the middle of a forest, and we're the ones who have to get it."  
  
"Maybe we could take it back times fifteen then!" Selphie cheerfully suggested. "Then no one else would have to go through this for a long time!"  
  
"Says here..." Quistis started, reading a paragraph from a book. "The rare Pheyttia Blossom, used to cure the disease of the same name, must be turned into medicine hours after it's picked or it will wilt and die. It would never survive the ride home."  
  
"That's why Dr. Kadowaki sent us with the necessary ingredients to make this medicine." Squall told them, pointing to the box on the seat next to him. "We'll make the cure right on the spot and administer it. She told me he should show direct signs of recovery. If we don't do it right the first time, nothing will happen, so we should make another one and do it again. She informed me there will be more than enough of this blossom, so we should be able to mess up without worry at least ten times. Then the things she sent us will run out, and we'll be in trouble. We're about half an hour from the island." Squall finished by speaking the last sentence into the intercom, to the barracks.  
  
"I got it." Rinoa answered, then added, "Hey, his fever seems to have gone down. Is that good or bad?"  
  
"It depends. Dr. Kadowaki told me he might lose his fever for a few hours, but that he will end up cold, close to when someone's dead. She said just to keep him warm and not to worry."  
  
"Will do, Squall." And the transmission ended.  
  
Squall silently prayed that Zell wouldn't get any worse, and that they'd find this flower before the day was over.  
  
He knew little of the terrors awaiting them on Noble Island.  
  
*****  
  
"We're approaching Noble. Selphie, and you make sure we're ready to land?"  
  
"No problem, Commander." She smiled and jumped up to make sure everything was prepared and working.  
  
Squall pressed the intercom button. "Rin, how's everything?"  
  
"Not good. He was cold for a bit, but now his fever's high again, and he can't sleep." Squall noted that she sounded very worried.  
  
"All right, try another esuna and don't worry about blankets. We're about to land, so brace Zell for the impact."  
  
"All right."  
  
Squall turned the intercom off and concentrated on the landing when Quistis let out a low cry of fear. "What is it, Quistis?"  
  
"Something BIG is down there. I saw it go into the forest when it saw us coming..."  
  
"It's probably more scared of us than you are of it." Squall assured her, and turned on the landing gear.  
  
The landing was over in seconds, and it was unusually smooth for what Squall usually landed like, but no one made a comment. It was good he was improving.  
  
"Squall, are we down now?" Came Rinoa's voice, still a little scared.  
  
"We're landed, everything's fi-"  
  
He was cut off when a huge tremor caused everyone to lose their balance and fall.  
  
*****  
  
Rinoa cried out and fell into the wall in front of her, barely managing to avoid hitting her head.  
  
Behind her, Zell gave a cry and tumbled from the bed, hitting the floor with a loud impact sound.  
  
"Squall, what was that?!" Rinoa yelled, pressing the button.  
  
Her reply was static.  
  
"Squall?!"  
  
Again, static.  
  
But before she went into a panic, the door was forced open and Squall came in. "Something hit us right after landing." He explained, walking past her to Zell and helping him off the floor.  
  
"I feel gross..." Zell muttered, sitting on the edge of the bed when he was far enough off the ground.  
  
"Selphie and Irvine are outside checking for damage, and Quistis is making sure nothing in the Sick Bay is broken."  
  
Rinoa sat down next to Zell and let him use her shoulder as a head rest. "What happens if there's damage? I mean, will we be able to get off this island?"  
  
Squall sighed. "I'm not sure. That's the problem. Our radio is out, and we have no way of radioing Garden. If anything happens we could very well be stuck out in the wilderness."  
  
"Squall never tells a lie." Zell sighed, his eyes shut. "Even if it means telling everyone 'We're doomed'."  
  
"I never said that. And also, Rinoa, Zell. You two are coming with us."  
  
"Huh? Squall, Zell can't walk!" Rinoa protested.  
  
"It doesn't matter. Whatever that was might come back to hit us again, and I won't feel right leaving you two alone without backup."  
  
Selphie peeked around the door, a look of hopelessness on her usually happy face. "Whatever it was didn't hit us."  
  
"Good."  
  
"No, bad. It bit the ship and took half the engine with it when it left."  
  
Squall stared at Selphie like she was lying. "This is made of Titanium Alloy, nothing could bite through it."  
  
"Care to come and see?" Irvine asked, stepping into the room. "There's a huge chunk of the engine missing, and, like, the only proof we have is the jagged edges. Something bit the ship. Something strong."  
  
Squall looked back at Rinoa and Zell. "You two are definitely coming with us now. Irvine."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"We'll have to take turns carrying Zell. Don't be worried, the disease isn't contagious. And Zell doesn't weigh all that much. I'll take him first." Squall walked up to Zell and turned, crouching to the floor. "Ok, Zell, can you just-"  
  
"Yeah, I know." Zell put both his arms over Squall's shoulders, and then let Squall pull him the rest of the way onto his back. "This is uncomfortable."  
  
"Tell me about it." Squall nodded, but finished, "But we'll have to deal with it. All right, let's get out of here."  
  
*****  
  
After about five minutes of walking, Squall stopped and said, "Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis. We'll stop here for the night. You three go back and get what we'll need from the Ragnarok. I made sure we have plenty of tents, so we don't have any need to worry about running out. Get some food, and water."  
  
The three nodded and left, back towards the Ragnarok.  
  
Squall placed Zell, who was now sleeping, down on the ground and made sure none of the fear he was feeling could show on his face. If he was scared, he knew everyone else would get all worked up as well.  
  
But Rinoa knew him too well. "Something bit through the Ragnarok, and you expect me to believe that calm look on your face? No one's falling for it, least of all me. You must be scared."  
  
Squall looked at her, then sighed. "You know me too well, Rin... Yeah, sure I'm scared. There's something out here that can bite through Titanium! If it can bite through that, it could kill a human without trying. Why shouldn't I be scared?"  
  
"Well, at least I stocked up on Ultima and Flare before I left." Rinoa sighed, sitting down on the ground.  
  
Just over her left shoulder, something moved, and Squall had drawn Lionheart without thinking, grabbing Rinoa and pulling her aside.  
  
There, held at the tip of his sword, was the ugliest thing he had ever seen. It looked a little like a blood soul, except it had two gigantic eyes that were obscenely hanging out of the sockets. And instead of floating, it had eight long legs, like a spider. Salive dripped from it's mouth, and it eyed Squall like he was lunch.  
  
"What is that?!" Rinoa shrieked, hiding behind Squall.  
  
"I don't know... It's some new form of monster..."  
  
The spider thing ducked away from Squall's gunblade and retreated into the safety of the forest.  
  
"I don't like this place." Rinoa said, still hiding behind Squall.  
  
"That makes two of us..."  
  
A/N: Alright, I hope this chapter came out fast enough... I'm sorry if it's a bit shorter than Chapter 1, I had more to write about in the last chapter. I'll start Chapter 3 ASAP, ok? 


	3. A New Terror

The Virus  
  
Chapter 3: A New Terror  
  
A/N: I mention Trabia in this one, and it's not the school. I mean Trabia as in the whole Northern Continent. Thanks again to the people who've reviewed me!  
  
"Can you take that side?"  
  
"This one?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks." Squall tried for the third time to put up one of the tents he had been holding onto. Those things were so damn hard to set up.  
  
Zell was weakly watching out for anymore of those spider-things, so he could warn Squall about them. No one knew exactly what kind of damage they could do.  
  
The tent began to quiver, and Squall tried withouot hope to keep it from toppling over.  
  
Too late.  
  
The entire thing crashed down again in a swishy heap.  
  
"Oh!" Rinoa sulked, and kicked the tent. "I hate these stupid things!" She sat down next to Zell with a heavy sigh. "How are you?"  
  
"Feeling fine." Zell lied, and Rinoa could tell.  
  
"What's bugging you? Should I cast another esuna?"  
  
"No, Rin, I'm... Fine. I'm just tired..."  
  
"You said it already." Squall said, trying to figure out the tent again.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said, you said it already. Back in Trabia."  
  
"Yeah, that was different." Zell muttered, crossing his arms. "I didn't know I was sick."  
  
Squall shrugged and finally managed to set up one side of the tent. "Ah. Victory."  
  
Rinoa hugged Zell tightly. "Don't worry. We'll find that flower soon and get the radio fixed to call for help before you know it."  
  
Zell nodded. "I know... I just never thought something like this could happen to me! I mean, I never thought I'd have to talk to my mom on the phone and say, "Mom, I'm dying, and I'm going to Noble Island to find a cure for what I have"... It's... It's different... I don't think I'm sad about it, or scared. It just feels weird."  
  
"I sort of understand what you mean." Rinoa nodded, her eyes on Squall slowly standing up the other side of the tent.  
  
Zell leaned back against the tree behind him and shut his eyes. "I'm gonna get some sleep, Rinoa... Squall can get the tent on his own... Keep an eye out for those ugly critters." He was asleep before Rinoa could say something funny to cheer him up.  
  
"Finally!" Squall joyusly cried, unzipping the front of the tent with a smile. "I can handle anything."  
  
Rinoa grinned at him and got up, wrapping her arms around his waist. "That's your job, Commander Leonhart."  
  
"Let's get the inside set up, and possibly find firewood for when the others get back."  
  
Rinoa nodded and entered into the tent, which came equipped with comfy sleeping bags. Too bad the stupid things were a one-time use. She unrolled one, then stuck her head out. "Bring Zell in, he needs to lay down."  
  
Squall nodded and crossed to Zell, then lifted him up with a bit of difficutly.  
  
Zell mumbled something, but stayed asleep.  
  
Squall carried him into the tent and Rinoa tucked him into the sleeping bag. Then she unrolled the other two and smoothed them out. She looked up at Squall and smiled. "All done."  
  
"I'll go by myself for the firewood. You keep an eye on Zell and make sure he doesn't get any worse while I'm gone."  
  
Rinoa pouted, but agreed to stay behind, and Squall left to find something easy to burn.  
  
*****  
  
The forest was as dark as night, but luckily Squall had a flashlight with him. He switched it on and shined it around himself.  
  
In front of him, in a tree, was a cute looking animal with huge eyes, a pink nose, and long fur. But Squall intelligently kept his distance, and his eyes, from and on the creature. He watched a snake crawl up the tree, and then almost as quick as lightning, that fuzzy thing struck with it's tail, which was scaly, spiked, and very deadly from the looks of the mangled snake it started feeding from.  
  
Squall ducked under a low branch, and found what he was looking for.  
  
A very tall and dead tree with dried branches all broken and limp was waiting right there for him, so he started breaking off branches for the fire he would be having.  
  
He didn't notice the strange thing soming up behind him.  
  
Yellow eyes gleamed strangely in the darkness, and long, slender legs carried it quickly behind cover and out of sight.  
  
Squall, trained in battle, heard it moving and placed a hand on Lionheart. "Who's there?"  
  
The thing hissed as he shone the flashlight on it, and it leaped from the bush.  
  
Squall's heart began to wildly thump when he saw it. It was about the size of a Torama, but it was UGLY. It's bottom jaw stuck way out, and jagged, dripping teeth stuck out everywhere. It's eyes were deformed and yellow, shining brightly in the light, and it's body was covered in coarse fur. Two curled horns rose from it's head, and a series of needles stuck from it's skin halfway down it's lower torso. It's tail was fluffed up like a cat's when you surprise it, and it hissed again before running deep into the forest.  
  
Squall gulped, disliking the feeling he was having, and left quickly, forgetting the firewood on the ground where he had stood and looked that hideous thing over.  
  
*****  
  
Rinoa sighed and rolled over on the floor of the tent so she was facing Zell. 'Why does he always want to leave me behind? I can be just as good as he can be... I'm not a weak woman, but he still sees me as one, no matter how much combat training I have!'  
  
Zell sighed in his sleep and turned his head to find a cooler spot on the pillow.  
  
'I'm a sorceress, for Hyne's sake! I probably have more magic skill than anyone else! Plus, I'm carrying all the scan spells, Squall will need those...'  
  
A pang of fear washed over her. 'Oh no! I've got scan! And all the curative magic! What if he gets hurt?' She made up her mind and unzipped the flap on the tent at the same time a very pale Squall emerged from the woods.  
  
"Rinoa, get back in the tent!" He hissed, running right up and gently pushing her back in, then following her and zipping the front up. "Close all the windows, quickly!"  
  
They went to work getting everything shut, and then Rinoa started to fuss.  
  
"Squall, what's wrong? Are you hurt? What happened?" She wrapped her arms around him tightly, and got a hug back in response.  
  
"Something followed me through the forest. Something very strange, and something dangerous."  
  
"What was it?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Those three words scared Rinoa. Squall, with all his studiative knowledge of monsters, didn't know what followed him. What really scared her was Squall was trembling. "Squall?"  
  
"This island is ultimately screwed up, Rinoa... I saw something kill a snake with it's tail, the most hideous thing I've ever seen to date, and a very ugly spider. I already want to leave."  
  
"Just think of Zell, Squall... We have to stay and find the cure for him."  
  
Squall suddenly stiffened and held a finger to Rinoa's lips. "I heard something." He whispered.  
  
His fears proved true as a twig snapped, and a soft growling issued from in front and right of the tent. It still seemed a long distance away, but Squall knew what it was.  
  
"That ugly little bastard followed me back to the tent... Damn it, I have no clue what that thing does!"  
  
Rinoa shushed him, then partially unzipped a window to peek out.  
  
Directly in front of her eyes, the thing Squall had been followed by attacked the window screen, leaving a horizontal rip right across the screen.  
  
Rinoa screamed and zipped up the window, then backed into the middle of the tent.  
  
Squall shook Zell lightly, and when he opened his eyes lazily, Squall held a finger to his own lips to warn Zell to keep quiet.  
  
Zell nodded and moved the to center of the tent like Squall was motioning for him to do. Even though a thousand questions had popped into his mind, he wisely kept quiet.  
  
At the front of the tent now, a sharp barrage of teeth was tearing through the fabric of the outer flap, making way for the screen inside.  
  
Rinoa felt Squall's arms encircle her protectively, and she heard Zell giving his gloves a tug. He always did it when he knew there was going to be a battle.  
  
The thing had broken through the outer flap, and now it was staring right at them. Except instead of just leaving at the first glint of Lionheart, Ehrgeiz, and the Shooting Star, the creature howled and started foaming at the mouth.  
  
"What's wrong with it?" Rinoa cried, backing away from the front of the tent.  
  
"It's me..." Zell realized, then shut his eyes. "It knows I'm sick."  
  
Squall also remembered hearing something like that. "You're right. But it doesn't matter anyhow. I'm not letting it get in here."  
  
From a little bit left of the tent, a gunshot rang out, and the creature howled and retreated, running back into the forest.  
  
"Squall, Rinoa, Zell!" Came Selphie's scared voice as she headed towards the tent.  
  
The relief the returning people felt when Rinoa came out of the tent could not be described in words.  
  
"Rinoa!" Selphie called, rushing forwards and hugging the now crying girl. "What was that?!"  
  
"I don't know!" She sobbed, gratefull for her friend's embrace. "None of us do!"  
  
"Squall, and Zell?" Irvine questioned, looking back at the ripped up tent that no one else had emerged from.  
  
"They're both fine..." Rinoa told him, her voice soft and sort of tired-sounding. "Thank Hyne you guys got back when you did, otherwise... We'd be dead."  
  
"Try not to think about it." Quistis soothed, smoothing Rinoa's hair. "Let's just get a fire going, cook something for dinner, and set you guys up a new tent."  
  
"Forget it." Squall said, emerging finally from the tent. "Whatever it was knows we're here, we have to get out of this spot."  
  
"But... It's almost dark!" Irvine protested, but the look Squall gave him would have been enough to stop a Behemoth in it's tracks. "Geez, if looks could kill..."  
  
"We're going to move deeper into the forest. Hopefully whatever it is won't follow us. Let's get to work, Irvine, your turn to carry Zell."  
  
Irvine sighed. It was going to be one heck of a long night.  
  
A/N: Hope this one was good. I don't know if chapters are getting shorter or longer, but you can't expect me to be perfect. This is my first real fic after all. Hope you all enjoyed it. 


	4. Fearful

The Virus  
  
Chapter 4: Fearful  
  
A/N: Wahoo, chapter 4! In all my writings, I have rarely gottent his far in such a short amount of time. I think the reviews are going to my head, but, then again, if I have people who enjoy reading what I write then... Why shouldn't it go to my head? As long as I don't start acting like Seifer, we'll all be fine... ^.^  
  
  
  
"Can you handle those boxes, Rin?" Squall asked, looking concerned as Rinoa struggled to keep her grip on the two boxes of food.  
  
"I'm not weak, I'll be fine."  
  
"I never said that yo-" Squall started, but Zell interrupted him.  
  
"Can we just focus on getting the hell away from here? Whatever that thing was, it looked mad, and I'm sure it still knows where we are."  
  
Squall fell silent and finished taking down the destroyed tent.  
  
Zell, who seemed to be feeling a bit better, was standing up almost on his own, aided only slightly by Irvine. He still had a fever, but it wasn't all that high.  
  
Quistis was busy looking through a box for one of the three bottles of medicine Dr. K had sent for Zell's fever. "Look, I have to find these. Zell's fever is almost gone, and if he takes two then it might go away completely. We want what's best for Zell, right?"  
  
"What's best for Zell is for us all to get moving. It's what's best for all of us in case that thing comes back."  
  
"We're junctioned, and we have our best weapons equipped." Irvine said, his voice taking a defensive edge. "We can take whatever it dishes out."  
  
"How do you know it doesn't havce Ultima spells? Or maybe it can use something we have never been able to use? Instead of just the smaller spells, maybe it uses something bigger. Remember Maelstrom? I've only seen Ultimecia, Matron, and Rinoa use that."  
  
"No way a little thing like that could cast such a big spell." Irvine argued, but he didn't sound so sure. "But to avoid arguing, fine, we'll get going."  
  
"Found them!" Quistis joyusly exclaimed, taking out a small yellowish bottle. She opened the top and dumped two pills into her palm, then handed them to Zell.  
  
He made a face, then took them without water or any form of drink. "I hate taking medicine."  
  
"Can we get going now?" Rinoa asked, shifting the weight of the boxes, then blowing a strand of hair out of her face.  
  
Thunder cracked in the distance, and Selphie shivered.  
  
"I'm getting the feeling it's going to rain tonight."  
  
"You'll jinx us saying it." Zell told her, as they all started forwards. At least he was able to walk without tiring himself out too quickly.  
  
Selphie covered her mouth. "Oopsies... Oh well, at least we'll be set up when it starts... I hope."  
  
In front of them, a bush began to rustle, and Squall stopped, one hand on the hilt of Lionheart. "Guys... Stop and get ready for a battle..."  
  
Irvine saw it too, so he drew Exeter from 'her' holster and kissed the gun once before getting into his attack stance.  
  
Out of the bushes tumbled a sweet-looking fuzzy creature, somewhat resembling a kitten.  
  
"It's so cute!" Rinoa gushed, stepping forwards and crouching down. "Hey there little guy, aren't you sweet?"  
  
Squall went to pull her back, but the little thing started to gurgle and rub it's face on Rinoa's hand.  
  
She rubbed it's fur and cooed at it, then as she was about to stand up, a horrible monster jumped from the bushes after it, knocking Rinoa backwards. It bit into the fuzzy thing and Rinoa was sprayed with blood.  
  
She screamed and crawled around behind Squall, who was ready to attack.  
  
It looked at them, blood dripping off it's fangs. It was about the size of a Grand Mantis, and it looked a bit like one as well, except instead of the needle claws the Grand Mantis was famous for, this had pincer type things. In one pincer, it was holding half the fuzzy creature.  
  
"What the hell is that thing?" Irvine asked, aiming Exeter for it's head.  
  
"You think I know?" Squall replied, getting ready to attack.  
  
Before either of them had the chance, Zell let loose with a stream of furious kicks and punches on it, beating it right to the ground.  
  
"Zell stop!" Selphie called, trying to grab him and pull him back. There was the possiblity of Zell fainting and falling victim to one of the pincers.  
  
Zell, however, didn't listen. But as he was attacking, the thing saw it's chance and when Zell was open to a counter attack, it smashed him hard with one of the pincers, knocking him sideways and right into a tree.  
  
"Zell!" Selphie and Rinoa both cried out, and both of them sent a barrage of spells at the creeping monster.  
  
It deflected all of the magic with nothing injured and started to pounce on Zell's unconcious body.  
  
Squall charged it, knocking it back down to the ground with a swipe of Lionheart, and then continuing to attack it over and over, never forgetting once to pull the trigger of Lionheart.  
  
After that, it laid still on the ground, not even breathing.  
  
"Zell!" Selphie ran over to Zell and shook his shoulder softly. "Zell, wake up!"  
  
He slowly opened his eyes and then tried to get up, but winced the second he started. "Ow..."  
  
Squall came over and crouched down. "Ow what?"  
  
"My back hurts a bit..."  
  
Squall put a hand on his forehead and was surprised to find that, even after that, Zell still had a low fever. "Can you walk?"  
  
"I think so."  
  
With Squall's help, Zell slowly got to his feet, and was able to stand unassisted.  
  
"That's good. Now, we have to get going."  
  
As soon as the words had left Squall's mouth, the pincer thing got up and attacked Zell again, this time as feircly as Zell, himself, had done only moments earlier.  
  
Irvine emptied four clips of ammo into it before it finally was still again, this time chunks of it blown off by the shotgun shells.  
  
Zell was having some sort of a panic attack, frantically trying to shove the body off of himself. His face was pale, and he was screaming bloody murder the whole time.  
  
Squall put one foot on the moster and rolled it off, then sat down next to Zell. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Damn it!" Zell screamed, rubbing at his arms, which had blood on them. "It burns!"  
  
"Quistis, quick, I need one of the bottles of water." Squall held out his hand and recieved it, then washed the blood off Zell's bare arms, revealing burn marks, like it had been some sort of acid.  
  
"It hurts..." Zell complained, tenderly touching the red spots. "What the hell was that?"  
  
"I don't know, but it's blood must have had some sort of acitic compound. Get up, we have to keep going."  
  
*****  
  
"This is a good spot to set up." Quistis told them, motioning to the plants that surrounded them. "It says in my book that these plants are highly toxic to anything that touches them, so if we sleep around them in the tents, nothing would dare come close enough to hurt us."  
  
"And what if someone touches them?" Squall asked, but started to set up the tent anyhow.  
  
"Then whoever touches them will need to cast esuna on themselves right away."  
  
Squall nodded, and started running the metal bars through the top of the tent.  
  
Zell was still complaining at the red marks his arms bore, they were now very angry and sore-looking. "Of course, it would just make sense for the stupid thing to have acid blood. That just adds to the overall hopelessness of this place!"  
  
"It's not hopeless!" Selphie cut in, a frown on her face. "Don't say that!"  
  
"We'll be dead before we find the cure." Zell sulked, crossing his arms before thinking. He winced and uncrossed them.  
  
"Don't, Zell! You have to think happy! 'Cause if you don't, then we'll all be in trouble!"  
  
"You wouldn't be so happy if you were in my place." Zell told her, and she fell silent.  
  
"Zell, don't be so mean." Rinoa said, looking pouty. "Selphie's just trying to cheer you up."  
  
"Yeah... Sorry."  
  
"It's ok!" Selphie smiled and patted Zell on the shoulder. "I don't mind! You're right though, I don't know how I'd act if I was sick..."  
  
Irvine pointed to the tent he had just set up as he stopped in front of the three lounging people. "Selphie, we're all set up. If you want to relax inside now, you can go right ahead."  
  
"Ok!" She cheerily got to her feet, then waved a sort of goodnight/goodbye wave before disappearing into the tent.  
  
Irvine sat down with Rinoa and Zell, and took off his hat. "How are you, Zell?"  
  
"Um, feeling better. But it won't last long. I'm starting to feel all tired again."  
  
"Selphie's right though. Don't give up on us, understand?"  
  
Zell looked at Irvine with a smile. "Don't have to worry about that. I'm a fighter, remember? There's no way this disease is taking me without a good long battle first."  
  
Irvine laughed, and got up. "Good to know. Well, I'm going to join Selphie in the tent..." He walked off, and Quistis stopped him before he could go inside the tent.  
  
"Don't you even think about doing anything in that tent!"  
  
Zell and Rinoa both laughed at the look on Irvine's face, and his innocent 'I-wouldn't-dream-of-it' shrug.  
  
Over to the right of them, Squall let out a frustrated sigh and started setting up the tent for the fifth time.  
  
"At least we know there's something he can't do right." Zell said to Rinoa, who nodded.  
  
"Usually he's perfect at everything. Except dancing. He can waltz, but that's it."  
  
"I can't dance either." Zell admitted. "That's why no one saw me dancing at the Inauguration."  
  
"I'll have to teach you sometime." Rinoa said, then rolled her eyes. "I'm going to help Squall set the tent up. You can get some sleep if you want."  
  
Zell nodded and watched her go over to Squall, who happily accepted her help. And, before he knew it, he had fallen asleep again.  
  
*****  
  
Squall was flipping pages in the book Quistis had brought when it started.  
  
There was a low rumble in the distance, and then a flash of lightning, and almost directly after that, Squall could hear the sound of raindrops falling on the canvas of the tent.  
  
"At least we're set up." He mumbled, then went back to reading.  
  
To the left of him, Zell rolled onto his side and sighed in his sleep. His fever had gone up since he had fallen asleep, and it seemed he was getting increasingly uncomfortable.  
  
Squall had already read about the rainstorms here. Since it was a tropical sort of island, the storms were usually very big. And apparently when it was muddy, there was a plant that carried Zell's disease. And this plant could be fround in Trabia. Squall finally understood what happened. It hadn't just been chance that Zell had gotten this.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
Zell rubbed the back of his neck again with a grimace. "What the hell bit me?"  
  
Rinoa stood on her tip-toes and looked the back of his neck over. "Possibly a spider? Maybe a grat in the training center poked you."  
  
Zell shrugged. "I guess so. It's not a big deal anyhow."  
  
*End of flashback*  
  
"So it was the plant..." Squall mumbled to himself, and jumped when thunder roared directly overhead now. The rain had increased, and it sounded like a waterfall was hitting the tent. There was two flashes of lightning, and Squall put the book down on the box he had in the tent so no creature would go through it when they were sleeping.  
  
He noticed as he put it down that there was already wetness on the floor of the tent. He reached down and touched it, then made a face.  
  
As he lifted his hand, trails of slime stuck to it, which made no sense. Why was the rain goopy?  
  
There was another crash of thunder, and then he heard it.  
  
There was a low growling coming from behind the tent.  
  
Something was out there. 


	5. Face to Face With the Creature

The Virus  
  
Chapter 5: Face to Face with The Creature  
  
A/N: Sorry peeps, this chapter is gonna be short and sweet. And I'm sorry about the cliffhanger I pulled off last chapter. ^.^ I had to do it though, so expect more of those! And when I say chap 5 will be short, I mean short, possibly two pages unless I can drag it on longer without everyone yawning and clicking the close button, or skimming through to the end. Expect more surprises in the next few chapters.  
  
"Rinoa..." Squall whispered, shaking her slightly. "Rinoa, wake up."  
  
"Huh?" She opened her eyes, and was about to protest when Squall covered her mouth. She was, again, going to protest that until she saw the raw terror in Squall's eyes. She pushed his hand away and whispered, "What's wrong?"  
  
"There's something big outside. I don't know what it's doing besides drooling, but the floor is covered in it. I'm taking lionheart and heading out to get an attack in, and scare it away."  
  
"What do you mean it's drooling?" Rinoa asked, sitting up and placing her hand on the floor. She stuck out her tongue and lifted her hand up. "Disgusting!"  
  
"Shhh!" Squall silenced her, and they both heard a growl come from outside, along with footsteps. "Damn it, Rinoa, I'm leaving now."  
  
"Squall, what about-"  
  
"Keep an eye on Zell, and if he wakes up, keep him quiet at all costs! If you have to cast silence, do it!" And he unzipped the front flap of the tent and was out. He slipped around to the side, and headed into the forest, so he would come out to the side, or possibly back, of the thing. He went silently and quickly, and almost smirked to himself. 'I'll catch this thing by surprise, and that will be it. It won't bother us anymore.' He came to a clearing just as lightning flashed, and what he saw terrified him.  
  
It was looking right at him.  
  
He fell backwards in the mud, losing his grip on Lionheart.  
  
It stepped up and raised one giant clawed foot, and Squall struggled to move. At the last second, he rolled out of the way, and the foot caught nothing.  
  
Squall saw a light in Irvine's tent come on. The vibration had woken them up.  
  
It tried to step on him again, but a scream erupted from Squall's tent, followed by Rinoa's frantic voice.  
  
The monster turned to the tent and used it's teeth to rip the top half right off. The peices of the tent just floated to the ground, leaving Zell and Rinoa right out in the open.  
  
It howled, and Squall let out a cry, grabbing Lionheart and charging it.  
  
An Ultima spell flared up, knocking Squall backwards from the force.  
  
The creature screamed in pain, reared on it's back legs, then turned and retreated into the forest with all the fur on it's face burning.  
  
"Rinoa!!!!" Squall cried, heading back to the tent, slipping every few seconds in the mud. "Rinoa!!!" He made it to the tent and lifted Rinoa into his arms. Her face was burnt, and so were her arms and throat. Not badly burnt, but like sunburnt burnt. The downside to that was the flare of ultima, at close range, could cause permanent blindness, or brain damage. "Rinoa, wake up!"  
  
"Squall, I'm so sorry!" Zell sobbed, grabbing his friend's jacket sleeve. "I had no clue! I shouldn't have screamed!"  
  
"Zell, it's not your fault." Squall said stiffly, standing up. "Get up, we have to go and sleep in the other tent.  
  
"Squall..."  
  
"Just do it!" He snapped, and walked towards the tent, carrying the unconcious Rinoa. He heard Zell get up behind him and start struggling after him, fever or not. As much as he hated it, he was angry with Zell for screaming when he woke up. He was angry that the attention had been placed on the tent and Rinoa had used a spell at such close proximity. If Rinoa never woke up, or if she was blind... Squall knew he would never forgive Zell for it.  
  
Zell knew it too as he stumbled along behind Squall. He knew if Rinoa was hurt, he could expect to lose all his trust and respect, and possibly even Squall's friendship... He didn't want that to happen. 'I'm so stupid...' He scolded himself, his thoughts fuzzy in his fever-clouded mind.  
  
"Zell!"  
  
He vaugely heard someone calling his name, and he recognized the voice, but only slightly. "Quisty?" He asked, and then fainted.  
  
A/N: I told ya it would be short and sweet. Poor Zell, huh? And poor Rinoa. Chapter Six willbe started very soon, don't y'all worry! 


	6. What Happened?

The Virus  
  
Chapter 6: What Happened?  
  
A/N: Hopefully the writer's block I have won't interfere with my ability to write, because just for my readers, I'm working hard to finish my story, no matter what.  
  
"Wake up, Rinoa..." Squall pleaded, shaking her lightly. Morning was rolling around, and no one except Rinoa and Zell had gotten any sleep. For Squall it was because he was scared stiff that Rinoa wasn't going to open her eyes again, for everyone else, it was the fact that it was cramped in the tent, and Zell was tossing and turning in his sleep.  
  
"I'm sure she's ok, Squall." Quistis said, not looking up from where she was placing a cool cloth on Zell's forehead. "She's burnt and probably knocked herself out, but she'll be fine."  
  
"You don't know that!" He snapped, then sighed. "I'm sorry... I'm just..."  
  
"Scared!" Selphie finished. "And of course you would be, you love Rinoa!"  
  
Squall blushed only slightly, and turned his head so no one would notice. "Of course, but I'm not scared I'm... concerned."  
  
"Liar." Selphie teased, but stopped when Irvine shook his head no. "Sorry Squall. I just can't help it. It's fun to tease you."  
  
Squall gave her a dirty look, but he didn't really mean it. And, to tell the truth, he was still very angry with Zell, and he knew everyone else could tell by the way Squall had spoken to Zell outside the tent earlier that night. He didn't trust himself if Zell woke up before Rinoa either, there was no way he'd be able to keep his mouth shut.  
  
"You shouldn't be mad at Zell, you know." Irvine spoke up, cracking the silence that had fallen throughout the tent.  
  
"And why not?" Squall snapped, turning his shining blue eyes on Irvine.  
  
The Cowboy was quiet for a second before saying, "Zell woke up to hear and pretty much see something huge outside. He screamed before Rinoa could stop him. Maybe you should be angry with Rinoa for not being able to keep Zell quiet."  
  
Squall glared with so much conviction that Irvine wisely shut his mouth and looked away. "I wouldn't blame Rinoa because it wasn't her fault. If Zell hadn't have screamed, Rinoa would be just fine right now!"  
  
Quistis, unable to take anymore, shouted, "If Zell hadn't screamed, you'd be stuck to the bottom of that thing's foot by now Squall, so stop taking out your anger on Zell! He did nothing to you except respect your every word and move!"  
  
This time Squall was the one who looked away and went totally quiet. He thought about what Quistis was saying, then shook his head. "I can take care of myself. I would have been fine."  
  
"I give up!" Quistis sighed, shaking her head. "You are absoloutely hopless!"  
  
"Guys?" Selphie tried, but she was interrupted.  
  
"What do you mean hopeless?" Squall snapped, turning again to look right in his ex-instructor's eyes. "I sit here and I put the blame on the person who most deserves it and you call me hopeless!"  
  
"Guys?" Selphie said again, a little louder this time.  
  
"Zell doesn't deserve it, and you know it! You're just scared that what happened what your fault because maybe you weren't quiet enough to sneak up on it! Or maybe you have to blame Zell because precious Rinoa can't do anything wrong, can she?!"  
  
"Leave Rinoa out of this!" Squall roared, his hands clenched into fists.  
  
"Guys!" Selphie called again, and again no one listened.  
  
"Why? It's probably her fault we're in this mess right now!"  
  
"If Zell hadn't have gotten sick-"  
  
"How could you be so cruel?!"  
  
"Me, cruel? Ha! That's a laugh when those word come from you, Quistis!"  
  
"Guys!" Selphie shouted, as loud as she could, and finally things went silent.  
  
"What?" Squall snapped, sounding very annoyed.  
  
"Zell's awake."  
  
A silence took through the tent, and the only sound was the light rain on the canvas, and a soft sniffle from where Zell had his back to everyone.  
  
"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Squall hissed through clenched teeth, glaring at Selphie.  
  
"I did! No one listened!"  
  
"Zell-" Quistis said, but he interrupted.  
  
"Don't talk to me, please. It'll just end in another fight."  
  
"Zell, I-" Squall tried, and again, Zell's voice broke through.  
  
"Don't you talk to me at all."  
  
Squall took a ragged breath, then unzipped the tent and stepped outside into the rain.  
  
"He didn't mean it." Selphie said softly, moving closer to Zell. "He didn't."  
  
"Yes he did, he meant every word of it, and he's right." Zell said softly, and anyone who knew Zell could tell he was more than upset.  
  
"Don't even think that, Zell!" Quistis told him, a hand on his shoulder. "He's just in a bad mood."  
  
"Because of me. Rinoa's probably never going to wake up, and then Squall will hate me forever, and it's all because I couldn't keep my stupid mouth shut." Zell rolled over and sat up, and then headed for the entrance to the tent.  
  
"Zell, where are you going?" Irvine asked.  
  
"Away!" Zell told him, and was about to go when Irvine pulled him back.  
  
"Oh no you don't. You're staying right here with everyone."  
  
"I don't want to say, it's all my fault you guys are in this mess right now. Squall's right, if I hadn't have gotten sick-"  
  
"Zell, stop!" Selphie snapped, and the tent again fell silent. "Listen to yourself! What you're saying is ridiculous! It's not like you injected the virus into yourself! You couldn't help getting sick, so don't beat yourself up about it, understand?"  
  
Zell nodded miserably, and stopped struggling to get away from Irvine.  
  
"Now come on and go back to sleep. I bet by the time you wake up, everything will be all worked out." Selphie told him, and smiled comfortingly as he crawled back to the sleeping bag and laid back down.  
  
Irvine shook his head, and headed for the front of the tent.  
  
"Irvine, where are you going now?" Selphie asked him, but didn't try to stop him.  
  
"Outside to speak with Squall." Irvine said very angrily, then he was gone.  
  
*****  
  
Squall visiously hacked at the tree in front of him, trying to release his emotions on something he couldn't really hurt. He felt so guilty about saying what he said now, since Zell could hear him. He couldn't believe he had been so cruel to someone who worshipped the very ground he walked on.  
  
"You're an asshole, you know that?"  
  
Squall turned around to face Irvine. "Why are you out here bothering me. Go back into the tent."  
  
"No. Not until you admit that what you said was wrong, and go in and say you're sorry to Zell."  
  
Squall glared. "As your Commander, I'm ordering you to get back in the tent."  
  
"Go ahead and fire my ass then, 'cause I'm not moving."  
  
Squall rolled his eyes. Irvine could be so stubborn sometimes. "Look, I'm not saying anything to him if Rinoa doesn't wake up. It's his fault."  
  
"You're cold, Squall. Dissing your enemies is one thing, but to treat your friends like shit? What do you think Rinoa would say?"  
  
"Nothing, because she's probably a vegetable!" Squall snapped, and turned back to the tree, his anger returning.  
  
Irvine didn't take it and grabbed Squall by the shoulder and turned him around again. "She was the one who chose to cast the Ultima spell, Squall, not Zell! Man, who pissed in your cheerios?"  
  
"I hate that expression." Squall said, and started to turn again.  
  
This time Irvine shoved him back into the tree and pulled Lionheart from his hands. "Swallow your pride and apologize, or by the time this little mission is over, you'll be alone." And Irvine turned and went back into the tent, leaving Squall alone to think about what he said.  
  
*****  
  
"I'll carry Rinoa." Squall told everyone, picking up Rinoa's relaxed body and holding her tightly. "Irvine, you carry Zell."  
  
Irvine gave Squall a very dirty look, but picked the sleeping boy up anyhow.  
  
"I'm hoping we make it far today before we have to stop. It's been really bad these past couple of days, but we can't stop because of a few bad experiences."  
  
Quistis placed the last few items that were out back into a box, and lifted it up. She put that one on top of a few others, and struggled before lifting them up as well.  
  
Selphie was also carrying quite a few boxes to make up for what Rinoa couldn't carry.  
  
They all started to walk, and after a very long silence, Squall started to tell them his plan for the day.  
  
"We'll walk all morning, possibly past lunch if it's possible, and when we're all hungry, we can sit down and make a small fire to cook lunch with. If we can do without the fire, that's even better because the smoke might attract some wild animal, we don't need that right now. At lunch we can cast spells on Rinoa and Zell to our heart's content, even if it won't help. Then after lunch, we go as far as we can until we find a good spot to camp, set up, and get some rest."  
  
"Are you sure Irvine can go so long without a break? I mean, you've only got Rinoa, and Zell is much heavier than she is." Quistis said, stumbling over a small branch and quickly recovering herself. "I'm not even sure Selphie and I can go that long, with all these boxes."  
  
"We'll go as far as we possibly can." Squall repeated, and then went silent. Anyone who knew Squall knew it meant 'End of conversation, don't even try to talk to me or you'll get a whatever'.  
  
*****  
  
It seemed like forever to Quistis, but they finally stopped for their lunch break.  
  
Irvine's arms were trembling from carrying Zell so long, and Selphie even had lost her usual smile and was rubbing a red spot from where the corner of the box had dug into her skin.  
  
Squall was busy casting a couple spells on Rinoa, like curaga.  
  
No one was tending to Zell, and had he been awake, he would have felt very unloved by the same people who had been so sweet to him for most of the journey thus far.  
  
Quistis was too busy managing food to notice Zell's temperature rising, or the flushed look his face had aqquired.  
  
Finally Selphie looked over and gasped. "Whoops! Forgot about Zell!" She casted a triple on herself, and then casted esuna three times in a row on him.  
  
His face slowly returned to it's normal heat and color, and his eyes blinked open. "Wh... where are we?" He asked, his voice slightly raspy.  
  
Selphie knew Zell, and she could see that he was still depressed about Squall's feelings towards him. She hugged him tightly. "We've walked all morning. Are you feeling better?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." Zell shrugged, looking down at his gloved hands. "Tired."  
  
Selphie looked at Irvine for help, but he just shrugged. "Ah... Zell... I, um..."  
  
Zell looked at Selphie with a sad smile. "You don't need to say anything, I know you want me to be happy, I am..."  
  
"No, you're not." Selphie replied, sitting down flat right next to him. "Squall's being a real prick now. It's not your fault Rinoa's still sleeping, she casted the Ultima spell, not you."  
  
Zell shrugged. "Doesn't matter. She wouldn't have needed to if I hadn't screamed like a... like a chicken-wuss."  
  
"Oh, don't bring Seifer into this." Selphie frowned. "His mean names have nothing to do with this."  
  
"Well, he's right isn't he?" Zell asked, and then looked away.  
  
"Zell, come on..."  
  
There was no reply.  
  
Selphie sighed and gave up at about the same time Squall laughed.  
  
He laughed, but it sounded more relieved than anything.  
  
Selphie looked over to see Rinoa sitting up, tightly wrapped in a hug from Squall. "Rinoa!" Selphie ran over and joined in the hug. "Rinoa, we thought you weren't going to wake up!"  
  
Rinoa smiled, looking a little weak but that was it. "You think I'd cast Ultima that close without a shell on first?"  
  
Squall gave another laugh, and Selphie was surprised to see tears shining in his eyes. "Don't ever do that to me again, you understand?"  
  
Rinoa saluted. "Understood, Commander." And the two of them hugged again.  
  
"A-HEM." Irvine interrupted, having came over to see Rinoa was all right with his own two eyes. "Rinoa, what do you think Squall should be saying to Zell right about now? Should he be angry with the poor guy?"  
  
Rinoa glared at Squall. "You didn't!"  
  
"I didn't know if you were going to wake up or not, Rinoa..." Squall managed, avoiding her eyes.  
  
"Go and say sorry right now, Squall! Never blame something like that on him ever again!" Rinoa snapped, pushing Squall only slightly, just to get her point across.  
  
Squall nodded and slowly got to his feet, and made his way over to Zell. "Zell."  
  
The blonde boy didn't even look up.  
  
Squall crouched down and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I said those things to you. You're my friend, and I'm a prick."  
  
Zell looked over at Squall now, a faint smile on his face.  
  
"I was just scared for Rinoa... That's all."  
  
"It's ok." Zell nodded.  
  
Squall looked unsure what to do next, and slowly offered his hand.  
  
Zell looked at it, then happily grabbed it, but instead of shaking it, he pulled Squall into a hug.  
  
Squall froze up, but Zell hugged him anyhow, then let him go. "Zell, what was that for?"  
  
"Just because."  
  
Squall rolled his eyes and got up, heading back to Rinoa. "Happy now?"  
  
Rinoa was giggling. "Yeah, and I guess Zell is happy too. That's good, now we're all friend again!" She got to her feet and hugged Squall, then went over and started a quiet conversation with Zell. The two of them were probably the best friends in the entire group. Selphie and Irvine didn't count because they were officially a couple.  
  
*****  
  
Quistis walked along, nose stuck into the book on Noble. "It says here that the Pheyttia Blossom is noctournal. It only opens it's blossom at night, that's the only chance we have to grab the flower. But it also says that there's some weird creatures that live around there that only come out at night."  
  
Selphie, free of boxes only because Irvine, Rinoa, and Squall were carrying most of them, skipped along besides Quistis. "We can handle them, right? Does it give HP and Weakness?"  
  
"No, but I brought scan spells." Quistis explained. "If we can't find the weakness in the book, then I'll just scan them.  
  
Selphie nodded and started to hum to herself as she skipped along. Despite the muddy ground, and the slight chill, and the fact that if they didn't find this flower Zell would die.  
  
And then it happened.  
  
A vine seemed to whip out, catching Selphie around one ankle.  
  
She cried out as she fell onto her knees into the mud.  
  
Behind her a small purple flower shot something into the back of her neck, and she shrieked.  
  
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Something bit me!"  
  
Squall froze in his tracks and turned around. "What did you say?"  
  
"I said something bit me!"  
  
He ran back to Selphie, sliding in the mud halfway and losing his balance. He righted himself quickly and got to Selphie, pushing her head forwards and moving her hair out of the way.  
  
"What are you- Ow! Squall!"  
  
Squall pulled her back and held out a small thorn in the palm of his hand. "Something shot you."  
  
Selphie took it from him, surprise written all over her face. "What the... What did this?"  
  
Squall kept quiet. Maybe it hadn't been the same thing that Zell had gotten... Even if it was, there was only one cure, and she was infected now. "It doesn't matter, let's get going again." He headed back to the front of the group, and only Rinoa noticed his already pale face was a few shades whiter than normal.  
  
*****  
  
"Are you all right?" Quistis asked Selphie, who had stumbled again into the mud. The girl's yellow dress was almost completely brown now, but the sleepy, out of it Selphie didn't seem to care anymore.  
  
"I'm so tired..." She whispered, pushing herself into a sitting position.  
  
Irvine placed down the boxes and went to Selphie's side, crouching down in the mud and placing a hand on her forehead. "Fever." He told Quistis, who also tested Selphie's forehead.  
  
It was very warm.  
  
Quistis went to boxes Irvine had placed down and opened one up. "I was hoping I wouldn't need to do this but... Squall, can you put Zell down please?"  
  
Zell had gotten worse since Selphie had started showing signs of sickness, and he was now being carried again.  
  
Squall obeyed quickly, worried that what he had feared was true.  
  
Quistis took out two syringes from her little kit and first went up to Zell.  
  
The boy groaned. "Oh no... not this again."  
  
"It'll only be quick Zell, I only need a small drop."  
  
Zell held out his arm and shut his eyes. "I hate needles."  
  
Quistis quickly collected some of his blood, and then went back to her kit and placed it down. She took the second syringe to Selphie and crouched down. "Selphie, I'm going to take a bit of your blood, ok?"  
  
"Yeah... sure..." Selphie slowly held out her arm, allowing Quistis to prick her and suck a bit of blood into the needle.  
  
The Instructor opened another small box and took out a battery- operated microscope. "I'll just compare Zell's blood to Selphie's. If it has the same virus strands, I know if Selphie's infected or not." She put Zell's blood onto a slide and looked into the miscroscope.  
  
"Do I look worse?" Zell asked from his relaxed position.  
  
"A little, yes." Quistis admitted as she switched the slides. She peered in, and shook her head sadly. "Irvine... Selphie's been infected with the virus."  
  
Irvine immediately looked to Squall. "You said it wasn't contagious!"  
  
"It's not." Squall sighed, looking at the interesting mud on the ground. "When she was shot by the flower-"  
  
"A flower shot her?"  
  
"Yes. I pulled out that thorn... That flower is... It's what carries the Pheyttia Disease."  
  
Irvine's eyes began to swirl with anger. "You never said a THING when she got hit with it! You didn't even tell her she'd be sick like this in a matter of hours!!!"  
  
"I didn't think it mattered."  
  
"Well it did!" Irvine snapped, his arms protectively around the now- sleeping Selphie. "If she dies, man... I'll always remember you as the person who never said a thing until it was too far along."  
  
"It wouldn't have done anything except worry everyone if I had said anything. Besides, you couldn't have stopped it, only the cure could have done that."  
  
"It doesn't matter!" Irvine cried, tears in his eyes. "If Rinoa had gotten it and I hadn't said anything, you would HATE me for it! That's how I feel!"  
  
"So you hate me." Squall simplified, an eyebrow raised."  
  
Irvine was quiet for a moment, then he nodded. "Yeah, I do."  
  
"Fine with me." Squall shrugged, and walked away, despite the look Rinoa was giving him.  
  
Instead of chasing her silent boyfriend, Rinoa walked over and sat nex tto Irvine, who now had his head lowered. "You don't hate him."  
  
"No, he just makes me mad."  
  
"He cares, you know."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Have you mentioned to Selphie how you feel?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Irvine looked up.  
  
"Have you told her you love her?"  
  
Irvine was quiet, and he bit his lip. "Uhm... No."  
  
"Tell her."  
  
He was silent again, and he looked away.  
  
Rinoa took his hat off him and placed it on Selphie's head, then got up to go after Squall. 


	7. The Battle

The Virus  
  
A/N: This'll be a short chapter. Sorry for the delay.  
  
Chapter 7: The Battle  
  
"Are you sure you're ok, Selphie?" Irvine asked, for about the five- hundredth time that minute. "Maybe I should cast esuna again? Do you want a little of the medicine we brought along? How about another blanket?"  
  
"Irvine." Selphie laughed, and slapped his arm playfully.  
  
He bit his bottom lip, and he really looked worried and anxious. "I just-"  
  
"I'm fine. I told you already. I'll be ok."  
  
"Are you sure you-"  
  
"Irvine, stop fussing! I'm ok!" Selphie laughed, but anyone could tell she wasn't feeling as good as she was pretending.  
  
Rinoa was sitting across from them at the opening in the tent, lying on her stomach and taking notes from the book on the creatures of Noble.  
  
Zell, too, was reading a book. He looked pretty relaxed, wrapped in blankets with a bottle of water next to him. Every little bit, he would yawn, stretch, then get right back to the book.  
  
A tiny way from the camp, something howled.  
  
Squall looked as tense as he felt, and every time something even rustled, he would find his hand on the hilt of Lionheart.  
  
Quistis poked the fire with a stick, to keep it going, then yawned. "It's getting late."  
  
"We can't sleep. We have to keep watch on the sick people, and on the camp." Squall couldn't sleep anyhow.  
  
Again, something howled.  
  
"What's wrong?" Rinoa asked, sauntering up and wrapping her arms around Squall's shoulders. "You're so tense."  
  
"I'm just fine." Squall lied, even though Rinoa knew what was wrong with him.  
  
"I'm worried." Quistis suddenly said, her eyes on the orange flames. "I'm worried we'll never get off this island. I mean, with Ragnarok damaged like it is, and Selphie AND Zell infected now... What if we don't make it?"  
  
Squall was about to snap at Quistis for being stupid when two howls came form both sides of the camp. Squall rose up quickly, Lionheart drawn. "Quistis, get ready. Rinoa, get in the tent."  
  
"I can fight too!"  
  
"You're still too weak. Irvine!"  
  
Irvine came over, loading Exeter. "Got your back, man."  
  
Squall watched, and his nervousness increased when three of those ugly monsters stepped from the bushes.  
  
Zell joined them, looking weak, but ready to fight. "Don't say anything, I'm helping whether you like me to or not!"  
  
Squall didn't say a thing, instead he backed up slightly, to test what they were doing.  
  
One of the monsters took a step forwards, but one of the others nipped it's ankle, and it stepped back.  
  
Squall cast a Triple on Quistis. "Use the Aura spells!"  
  
Quistis cast them on Squall, Irvine, and then on Zell, only because he was insisting.  
  
Irvine took shining blue bullets from his pocket, and loaded them into Exeter. "Energy Shot!" He called, then started firing. Over and over again, the stream of white-hot energy blasts struck the thing.  
  
When the limit was over, the ugly thing was uglier, no fur left on it, it's flesh bubbling and blistering.  
  
And all four of them watched in horror as it shook off and climbed back to it's feet.  
  
Squall started attacking one of the other two, never forgetting to pull the trigger, then he used Lionheart on the one Irvine had already attacked. He unleshed hell on the thing, and when he stepped back, sweat glistening on his forehead, both the monsters got back up.  
  
The one he had hit with Lionheart was missing half of it's skull, and it's brain was disgustingly hanging out one side of it's head.  
  
"Undead!" Quistis called, and casted a triple cure. The two that had been injured already yelped and ran back into the forest, but the untouched one stood there. "It has to be wounded for the cures to kill it!"  
  
Squall stepped up to attack, but a huge split in the ground interrupted him.  
  
Everyone turned to see Zell finishing his Limit Break, Burning Rave. After it, however, Zell staggered for a second, then collapsed in a heap on the ground.  
  
Squall cast a curaga, and the little monster keeled over, dead. He stepped over to it and cautiously poked it with Lionheart a few times.  
  
"What are you doin', man? It's dead."  
  
"This is a smaller version of the thing that attacked me the other night..."  
  
"Squall!"  
  
He turned to see Rinoa frantically holding up the book. "What is it?" He took it from her and read the passage out loud. "The NobleWolves," He looked at the picture it provided, and it was the thing he had killed. "Are a species original to Noble Island... The parents of the babies are very protective and... EVERYONE!" Squall dropped the book and frantically got everyone's attention. "Get whatever you can and go! The mother is-"  
  
Down the path, the huge mother of the babies barreled out into view, and Quistis screamed. "Oh my gods! Everyone, RUN!" She took off, not bothering to grab anything.  
  
Squall looked at what Quistis had seen, and at once he fell into a dead panic, so unlike him, but for some reason the time seemed desperate enough.  
  
The mother was very quickly approaching the camp.  
  
"Rinoa, go!" Squall pushed her in the direction Quistis had gone in. "Go!"  
  
"Squall, I-"  
  
"Just GO Rinoa! For once don't argue and go!"  
  
Rinoa took a few steps backwards, then headed off at a run with Irvine, who was carrying Selphie.  
  
Squall lifted Zell onto his back, and started running. A long time passed, and the mother kept right on his heels, and Squall's arms were beginning to become exhausted. He waited until the mother was right on him, and ducked into the bushes by the side of the path. "Zell, get up!" He whispered feircly. "Wake up!"  
  
There was no response.  
  
Squall casted Esuna three times in a row, his heart beating with the footsteps of the mother, who had located them and had broken into a run again.  
  
Zell opened his eyes with a groan, caught sight of the huge thing, and screamed, climbing to his feet and taking off.  
  
Squall drew Lionheart, headed back to the path and came face to face with the Monster. "Let's go." He said, readying himself for a battle of his lifetime. 


	8. Seifer

The Virus  
  
A/N: OMG, is it true?! Do I biufinally/b/i/u feel the need to update! I DO!  
  
buChapter 8: Seifer/b/u  
  
The sun rose on a new day in Balamb. At the Garden, many of the students were just waking and preparing themselves for another day of training. Instructors went to their classrooms and booted up the computers, then went over their lesson plans. The cafeteria ladies had just finished preparing the breakfast and were starting to get ready to serve the hungry students.  
  
However...  
  
The radio that connected the happenings of the Ragnarok to Balamb Garden had been giving them nothing but static for two and a half days. Headmaster Cid was beginning to worry, and from the description of Noble Island he'd gotten out of books and scientists, things weren't looking good for the Elite group of SeeDs.  
  
"What are we supposed to do?" The headmaster anxiously asked, pacing back and forth across his office. Seated in various places were Dr. Kadowaki, Xu, and Kiros, who had shown up on behalf of President Laguna.  
  
"The last time a group of people went to retrieve the blossom... Out of the several that went, two returned and one was permanentely injured." Xu said gravely, shaking her head with dissappointment.  
  
"When did you lose contact with them?" Kiros slowly asked, as usual he was nothing but calm.  
  
"We lost contact right after they made their landing on the island... It wasn't a crash landing, because we were in the middle of a radio transmission with Irvine when the static began."  
  
Kiros looked thoughtful and folded his arms across his chest. "If you recieved a transmission while they were on the island, the problem can't be that they're simply out of range. If they didn't crash, it most likely rules out the idea of damage to the ship... It's made of the strongest possible material, and I can't name one monster that can cause damage to it." He stood and smoothed out his clothing. "I've never come across a problem like this. It seems like it's going to remain a mystery until we find any possible causes for the lack of communications."  
  
"The most serious problem is that we've sent the best group of SeeDs to an island they know nothing about, armed with only their weapons and a stock of spells. Spells run out, as does ammo. It's known now that the Phettia blossom calls this island home, and it's a tropical island. There will be rain, and muddy conditions, which leads to the blossom wishing to spread the disease."  
  
"Is it a blossom, or is it a monster?" Asked Kiros, turning away from the window he had been looking out of. "It has monster characteristics. It wishes to poison people, and it can choose it's victims."  
  
"The book classifies it as a monster." Xu nodded, showing him the page. "What I'm saying is that there's a great possibility that more people than Zell could become infected, and there's a chance they already have."  
  
"We need a plan. We have to get them out of there." Cid sighed, shaking his head. "I've known a great deal of these SeeDs since they were four or five... They're like children to me." "I could speak to Laguna about possibly sending someone in there to get them. We could take two extra ships, incase something happened. I'm sure he'd agree, seeing as his son is one of the people."  
  
"Laguna would agree anyways." Xu stood now, closing the book. "I think now it's the only possible thing to do. We could find some fighters, and take some doctors and scientists, and head to the island. We'll locate Squall and the others and get them off the island."  
  
"But what about Zell?" Dr. Kadowaki asked, eyes wide. "If you take him off the island before he's had the cure... It'll only be a matter of months before he can't fight death anymore."  
  
"It all depends on the situation. If we get there and find them all struggling to live, we can't let them all die to save one person. I'm sorry." Xu sighed softly. "If Zell hasn't taken the cure by the time we arrive, he's going to have to leave without it."  
  
"That's crazy." Kiros snapped. "Almost as crazy as believing Squall would let you take him away without the cure. He considers everything a mission, and this is no different. He'll complete this mission, if not only to save his best friend, or he'll die trying."  
  
"But... We can't leave all of our best SeeDs in jeopardy because of one person!"  
  
"No, Kiros is right, Xu... We won't get any of them off the island until Zell is cured." Cid nodded slowly. "I think his plan is better. We'll gather a bunch of our SeeDs and send them to Esthar... There, they can get a flight to the island and locate the rest of our SeeDs, hopefully before anything happens, and then they can accompany them to the blossom."  
  
"You can't do that either, Cid." Dr. Kadowaki said. "Then all the others will be infected possibly, and there's not enough equipment to save more than ten people, providing no one makes a mistake when they're mixing the cure. Sending too many people would be foolish."  
  
Kiros smiled slightly. "I have another idea... You might not all approve of this, but I think it'll work. There's someone in Esthar who has been meaning to prove himself since the war against Ultimecia ended... He was in rough shape for a bit, but it seems like he's pulled himself together and he's shaping up to be a trustworthy young man."  
  
"You can't possibly mean..." Cid began, but trailed off slowly. "I heard he was living in Esthar... But you can't mean..."  
  
"I do mean him. Seifer Almasy. Give him a chance, you'll be surprised."  
  
"Seifer alone isn't going to bring back the entire party of SeeDs. And I don't think they'll trust him enough to go with him."  
  
"I think you underestimate their intelligence, Xu." Kiros snapped. "Think of it. Seifer shows up in the middle of their mission at an extremely dangerous island. He says he has a way for them to get back home. Why would he go through all that trouble just to lie to them and trick them into thinking that he's helping them? It would mean he put himself in severe danger just to have a good laugh at their expense? No. And you seem to have forgotten that a certain member of that group has since befriended him again."  
  
"You must mean Rinoa. I did hear she was speaking with him again." Cid stopped pacing and sat down. "You might have a point here... Seifer wouldn't agree to it unless he was serious about saving them."  
  
"Sir! He betrayed the Garden! He befriended a sorceress!" Xu's face was red with anger.  
  
"Like I said, he's shaping up to be trustworthy." Kiros turned back to the window.  
  
"How would you even know this?!" Xu's fists were clenched at her sides. "Have you been around him enough to know his behaviour? I've known him since he was around thirteen, and Headmaster Cid has known him since he was a troublemaking five year old! He has always been the same!"  
  
"You really need to look past your own perspective." Kiros sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yes, he betrayed Garden during the war. Why? He was hypnotized by Ultimecia's powers, by her seductive charms... The chance to actually be someone after years of failing course after course in school... It was a great draw for him... But after he thought he had gotten everything he wanted... He loses his best friends, then he loses in battle to Squall, someone who had always been his equal... He realized he no longer had powers like he did, and now he's alone... After Ultimecia blew him off, he was completely alone... He travels for a while before he meets up with Fujin and Raijin... He felt so guilty for what he had put them through, he apologized many many times... Through broken one word sentences and a great deal of 'ya know's I managed to gather from the two of them that Seifer had realized if he was going to amount to anything, he'd need to do it on his own... Now, this was hard to do, since now everyone hated him. He couldn't find a job, he was getting things thrown at him in the streets... And eventually Fujin and Raijin both told him if he couldn't support himself, he had to leave... They were having a hard enough time with work as it was. So he left his dwelling place at Fisherman's Horizon and he started to travel again... But he could never find a friendly face... Three months ago, however, he was in Deling City on a day when Rinoa was visiting her father. She took pity on him, and she convinced Squall to get him to Esthar, where she begged Laguna to get him a job, which was hard, but he finally pulled it off. Seifer became a bouncer for a bar in the city, and it disappointed us to learn that he was getting into fights at work... The last straw was when he stopped showing up on time, and the day before he got fired, he had the nerve to show up drunk."  
  
"Sounds like a great guy to entrust the lives of our SeeDs too." Xu muttered sarcastically.  
  
"I'm not finished." Kiros glared. "I dislike interruptions, please refrain from butting into my story again. Now, as I was saying... We pulled him in front of Laguna, thinking he would instill a good punishment on him... But instead, Laguna gives him a job as an aide. Now, I was wondering now who casted the confusion spell on the President without me noticing... But I saw right from day one that Laguna really made an effort in his spare time to get to know Seifer, and to understand why he was doing the things he does.. Which I always thought was just him being Seifer... Now, I don't know a good deal about the issues behind the behaviour, but Laguna assured me there was a good one... Seifer smartened up, and Laguna gave him a job as the head of the Esthar Army... Neither myself or Ward thought it was a smart move, but we were wrong. Seifer made good calls on handling issues, and he had an active role in planning anything involving strategy... I think he would be the perfect candidate for this rescue operation... And, of course... I believe I could spare my services as well. We are both skilled fighters, I believe we could handle locating Squall and the rest, helping them cure Zell, and bringing them back here unharmed."  
  
"Seifer was always good at his strategy classes... When he tried." Cid gave Kiros a bright smile. "If you think Seifer can do this, Kiros, I can trust you. You're a very intelligent man, and from what I've heard, you are wrong very rarely."  
  
"Thank you." Kiros nodded politely to the compliments. "So, does this mean I should head back to Esthar and inform Seifer of this new mission?"  
  
"I think you should." Cid stood up and offered Kiros his hand, which the ex-soldier shook firmly. "Just... Keep yourselves in contact with Laguna, so he can inform us of any developments."  
  
"Will do." Kiros nodded and headed for the door, pausing only to give Xu a look that caused her to snort indignantly and turn her back on him.  
  
*****  
  
"We should be fine with a group of around fifteen soldiers down there." Seifer Almasy explained, pointing to a small area on the map. "The monsters shouldn't break through, they're weak and we've had alot of practice."  
  
"General Almasy, sir."  
  
He turned around to face a soldier in the doorway of his office. "Can't you see I'm busy?"  
  
"I know, sir, but Presidential Aide Kiros sent me to get you. He says he has something urgent to tell you."  
  
Seifer sighed and turned back to the high ranking soldiers who had been planning with him. "Two seconds, guys." He strolled over to the soldier and took him out of the room. "What could be so important that I have to compromise security for the city? Because that's what I'm in the middle of doing!"  
  
The soldier looked frightened now. "Sir, I was only doing my job! Sir Kiros said I had to get you right away!"  
  
"Fine, fine. Where is he?"  
  
"He's waiting at the front of the building, sir."  
  
Seifer let the soldier go and began to head for the front. He rolled his eyes, wondering what the hell the big emergency was. Kiros never panicked, not ever, so it couldn't be that urgent... If it was extremely important, Kiros would have come and gotten Seifer himself. He went to adjust his jacket before remembering he no longer wore it... And he again cursed the dress code of the army.  
  
"Ah. General Almasy." Kiros greeted him with a wan smile.  
  
Seifer stopped in front of the lithe man and crossed his arms. "What do you want?"  
  
"I see you're still not making any effort to be polite to me."  
  
"Yeah, well, I think you're arrogant."  
  
Kiros laughed at that, but it wasn't a humorous laugh. "Pot. Kettle. Black."  
  
"Get on with it, Seagill. I have better things to do."  
  
"Not anymore, you don't." Kiros put his hand on his hip, taking on a cocky stance. "Laguna's given you an order to accompany me to Noble Island."  
  
"What?! That's crazy! I'm in the middle of securing the city's safety from the remainders of those moon-monsters!"  
  
"Ward, I believe, will be taking over while you're gone. We've got a mission from Balamb Garden."  
  
Seifer's eyes darkened visibly. "Why would I do anything for them? It's not like they've helped me a day in my life."  
  
"It's like this. On a mission, Zell was infected with a virus to which there is only one cure... This cure is so rare, you can only find it by heading deep into Noble Island."  
  
"Keep talking."  
  
"Squall and the rest went to the island to find the cure but right after landing, Balamb lost all contact with the Ragnarok."  
  
"And I should give a shit why?"  
  
"Because Rinoa's with them. If we don't locate them and give them a way home from the island... You'll never see her again. And... If for no other reason... If you don't do this, you have no clue how Laguna will get. You've never seen the man in a depressed mood. I have. I've been through two of those moods, and you feel like you don't even know him... First he lost Julia because he left to go to war... She married someone else... Then he lost Raine to childbirth... If he loses his only son..." Kiros shrugged. "But, if you don't give a shit..."  
  
"Don't patronize me, Seagill." Seifer snapped, his eyes narrowed. "I don't like it when you try this guilt-trip shit. You should know better than anyone that I do what I want to do."  
  
"I'm not giving you a 'guilt-trip', Seifer. I'm simply telling you... If you turn down Laguna's order and Squall never comes home, or if I go alone and none of us return, he'll most likely blame you." Kiros lowered his voice. "And without the President's backing, Seifer, how many people do you think are going to support you?"  
  
Seifer glared at Kiros, but inside he knew the older man was right... If he lost the friendship of Laguna, he'd be back to square one. No job... No friends... No life. He couldn't let it go back to how it had been... And... He couldn't just stand by knowing Rinoa was in danger like that. "Fine." He answered, his voice low but dangerous. "I'll go with you. But watch your back, Seagill, cause I won't be." And he turned and strode away, every movement radiating his fury.  
  
Kiros smiled to himself and also left the front foyer of the army building. He had known Seifer would see it his way.  
  
*****  
  
Smiling brightly, President Laguna Loire waved to Seifer, who was approaching his desk. "Hey Seifer!"  
  
The young man, however, didn't seem to be in such a cheerful mood. "What is this about a 'mission to Noble island' Kiros is all over me about?"  
  
Laguna blinked in surprise at Seifer and tilted his head. "He told you already? I thought you were at work..."  
  
"I was!" Seifer shouted, but quickly lowered his voice when Laguna looked hurt. "I'm sorry... It's just... I'm trying to do my best to keep up the defences here, and I can't get called off to go on some mission... And I especially have a problem going with Seagill."  
  
"But Kiros is my best friend! I've known him a long time, Seifer, he's a good guy!"  
  
"Maybe to you."  
  
"Well... Yeah! I don't get it, Seifer... I've never had a problem with him!"  
  
"Laguna..." Seifer started, but then trailed off with a sigh. "Nevermind. What am I supposed to do on this mission?"  
  
"Didn't Kiros fill you in?"  
  
"No, I got away from him as soon as I could."  
  
"Oh... Well... Zell got sick on a mission for Garden-"  
  
"Yeah, I heard that part, Laguna. I meant what exactly am I supposed to do about this?"  
  
"Well, in a day I was planning on you and Kiros taking an airship down to Noble and finding Squall and the rest of them and getting them to their destination, and back, safely..." Laguna trailed off and a rare sad expression came over his face. "I just hope their alive when you two get there..."  
  
"Hey."  
  
Laguna looked back up at Seifer slowly, still looking depressed.  
  
"I'll be ready to leave tonight, if you can arrange it."  
  
"Really?!"  
  
Seifer nodded and sighed.  
  
"Thanks! You're a great guy, Seifer! I'll tell Kiros and you two can go tonight and be at Noble a few hours later!" Laguna stood up and threw his arms around Seifer happily.  
  
"Ok, ok, just quit hugging me." Seifer tried to sound angry, but there was amusement in his voice. Try as he might, he could never seem to get angry with Laguna. He was too... Innocent? Nah. Too stupid, maybe, to waste his anger on. Seifer smirked at the thought. 'Well, he is the epitome of stupid...'  
  
Laguna let him go and regained his composure. "Well, I'm going to grab Kiros... You go and pack your stuff! Oh, yeah! I was talking to Doctor Kadowaki on the phone, she said to make sure you have plenty of... Oh..." He scratched his head. "What was it she said? It wasn't curaga..." A faint blush spread across his cheeks. "Ah... I forgot! Ok, you go and find Kiros and... No, wait, you don't like Kiros, so I'll find him and you call Doctor Kadowaki and find out what she wanted you to bring lots of! I think the number's on my desk. Somewhere." He started searching the cluttered top of his desk frantically. "I could've sworn it was here somewhere..."  
  
"It's ok, Laguna. I know the number for Balamb Garden, I'll just have them put me through to her office."  
  
"Oh, ok! Good!" He didn't stay any longer, because it was obvious he was excited at the prospect of his son's rescue...  
  
Seifer felt a surge of jealousy at that... Squall had a good dad, but he never wanted to talk to the guy... Yet Laguna had this undying, devoted love for Squall... 'I would treat him like a son should treat a father...' Seifer thought to himself bitterly as he picked up the phone. 'Too bad he'd never love me like that...' He quickly pushed aside the depressing thoughts, like he had been doing alot recently. There was no time for his self-pity... He had a mission, and he was going to devote himself to it... Maybe as a way to re-prove himself to the world... If word got out that he saved the world-wide hero Squall from certain doom... He'd be re- considered and everyone would have to like him. He sat down in the chair behind Laguna's desk and put his feet up, ignoring the paperwork he was putting his boots on.  
  
i"Balamb Garden switchboard. Who are you calling for?"/i Came the voice over the phone.  
  
"Doctor Kadowaki, and make it quick. It's urgent, and long distance."  
  
i"Yes sir, one moment please."/i  
  
The phone rang in his ear a couple times before the doctor picked it up. i"Doctor Kadowaki, can I help you?"/i  
  
"It's Seifer."  
  
i"Ah, I was expecting you might call. Laguna was quite busy when we spoke, and I've heard many times that he tends to be a bit scatterbrained."/i  
  
"He forgot what you wanted me to bring along."  
  
i"I told him, 'Tell Seifer to bring along plenty of Esunas, some Curagas, Elixirs, and possibly some strong defensive magic, like Flare or Ultima."/i  
  
"Why flare and ultima?"  
  
i"The species of monsters on this particular island are a force to be reckoned with... I'm hoping Ultima or Flare would at least daze them."/i  
  
"Daze them? Don't you mean kill them?"  
  
i"Not these monsters. It wouldn't even come close to killing them. The esuna magic is for Zell... He must be in bad shape by now... The curagas and elixirs would be for the rest of the team, and yourself. Between you and Kiros, you should be able to make it to them quickly... You won't be carrying anything except the elixirs and possibly tents, whereas they must be carrying alot... If the ship was damaged, it's very possible they need to take turns carrying Zell."/i  
  
Seifer rolled his eyes. "Of course Chicken-wuss would let them fuss over him and carry them."  
  
i"Seifer."/i The doctor's tone made him roll his eyes a second time. i"Zell is in no condition to be walking on his own. You might not understand now, but when you see him you'll know what I mean. He won't be the Zell you remember."/i  
  
"Does the disease make people shape-shift, or what? The chicken-wuss I know wouldn't even let some stupid sickness get in the way."  
  
i"Seifer... Zell isn't just sick. He's dying."/i  
  
Seifer nearly dropped the phone at this. "He's what?!"  
  
i"This disease isn't just something that makes him weak until he gets cured... It will slowly take over his body until he's nothing but a vegetable. Then he'll die slowly. The more activity he's forced to do, the quicker the disease will spread... And others could end up infected, because the flower blooms actively on Noble... If they all end up sick, they would be forced to be walking all day carrying food and tents and the equipment to make the cure... I'm afraid none of them would even make it to their destination."/i  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm leaving tonight." Seifer effectively kept the worry out of his voice. "Don't worry about it, I'm going to take care of everything."  
  
i"You sound like you've grown up quite a bit since the last time I saw you, Seifer... I'm glad to hear you've been making some good choices down in Esthar."/i  
  
"Yeah, gotta go Doctor. Things to do." Without waiting for a response, he hung up the phone and stood, stretching his arms and legs out, before heading off towards his room to pack some stuff for the journey.  
  
*****  
  
"I don't think I can thank you enough for leaving tonight." Laguna said to Kiros and Seifer while they waited for an airship. "And you know I'd go if I could... But... I can't just leave Esthar. I have responsibilities..." He looked at the two of them, and then looked at the ground and sniffled softly. "You two had better come back. Understand?"  
  
"Don't worry about me, Laguna." Kiros said to his friend, a smile on his face. "I'm a grown man, I can take care of myself. No use upsetting yourself over my acceptance of the mission." He didn't move a muscle when Laguna threw his arms around Kiros' shoulders in a tight bear hug. Instead he laughed and returned the embrace. "You truly are one of a kind, Laguna."  
  
The black haired man let go of Kiros and then turned to Seifer. "I was waiting for a chance to say this, and I guess now is as good as any... Seifer, since you got to Esthar and I started to get to know you, you've more or less grown on me... And..." He put his hand on Seifer's shoulder, squeezing softly. "I thought you might be glad to know that you're as much of a son to me as Squall is... I want you both to get back here safely."  
  
And for the first time in his life, Seifer was completely speechless. No sarcastic reply would come to his mouth, no matter how much he wished for it to... Instead, as an answer, he stiffly hugged Laguna. He never had been good at expressing any emotions except anger and arrogance... He had liked it that way. The other stuff took a toll on him. He pulled away after a few seconds and sighed heavily. "Well... It's time to go." He turned and picked up his bag of things and quickly strode into the airship.  
  
Laguna, however, wasn't upset by the lack of response. Instead he bade Kiros goodbye a few (twenty) more times before finally allowing his friend to go on his way. He watched the last of the crew that had been checking the airship leave, and then he watched the doors shut. Ignoring the depressing way he felt, he waved cheerily to the airship as it lifted off the ground... Very quickly it had vanished from his vision.  
  
"President Laguna, sir?"  
  
He turned to look at a timid young mechanic, who was holding out a folded peice of paper.  
  
"General Almasy asked me to give this too you, sir."  
  
"Thanks." He accepted and opened the note, and the words inside brought tears to his eyes.  
  
'You're like the father I never had, Laguna. Thanks.  
-Seifer'  
  
A/N: Well, sorry about any typoes. I threw this out real fast and then skimmed it to add in some html stuffs so it wouldn't look messed up on ff.net. My writing has a habit of deleting paragprahs. 


	9. Continuing On

The Virus  
  
A/N: Wow I'm inspired again! I'm having so much fun!  
  
Chapter 9: Continuing On  
  
Zell sat down heavily on the ground in front of the rest of the group, his chest heaving as he took deep gulps of air.  
  
"Zell, where's Squall?" Rinoa asked, her voice conveying a high level of terror. "He didn't stay behind, did he?!"  
  
Zell looked back in the direction he had just came from, and his eyes widened. "I... I don't know... I saw that thing and I ran... I didn't check and see if he followed or not..." He leaned back on the wet grass covering the ground with a groan. "I should have stayed with him... I really am a chicken-wuss..."  
  
"It's not your fault, Zell." Rinoa said softly, sitting down on the ground next to him. "Squall would have made you go."  
  
"But-"  
  
"No, Zell, it's ok, really." Her voice didn't hold any anger, but her eyes were full of tears. "We should all just set up camp for the night and hope everything's ok. We didn't run that far, and if we light a fire, we can keep the monsters away, and hopefully give Squall a target so he can find us.  
  
"Rinoa, I'm so sorry..."  
  
"You just stay here and rest, Zell. Irvine, Quistis and I will set up the tents. Maybe Selphie will keep you company." Rinoa turned and walked towards the few supplies they had escaped the camp with, and after only a few seconds she cried out.  
  
"What is it, Rinoa?" Irvine asked, turning to look at the distressed girl.  
  
"The kit to make the medicine! We forgot it!" Quistis turned to look at Rinoa, her eyes wide. "No, there's no way... I must have picked it up for I ran!"  
  
"It's not here, Quistis!"  
  
Zell forced himself to sit up, despite the fact he was feeling a little weak and feverish. "Rinoa, calm down... It's gotta be here somewhere... Maybe we... We just need to look for it..." Despite his attempt at cheerfulness, a tightness was growing in his chest, and to his dismay, his eyes began to burn with tears. "We couldn't have left it back there... We'll never find it... And... And... I'll..." He choked back a sob. "Die..."  
  
Quistis quickly joined in the search for the kit, and seconds later Irvine had joined too. Selphie sat across the camp, her bottom lip trembling.  
  
Zell forced himself to crawl over to her, and he hugged her tightly. "We can't give up yet, Selphie... Ok?"  
  
"But... But if the medicine is gone..." A tear rolled from her eye and down her cheek. "I don't want to die, Zell... I haven't even lived yet..."  
  
"I know..." He knew it would have been more comforting if not for the fact that he, himself, was crying. "This is all my fault..." He pulled out of the hug and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.  
  
"It's not your fault, Zell. You can't blame this on yourself. We chose to come here... We could have sent someone else to do this for us. We came here because we wanted to help someone we all love." Selphie pulled him into the hug this time. "Even if it meant we would have to die for you... I knew what could happen when I agreed to come here... I knew what would have happened if I hadn't agreed... I wasn't going to sit around and watch you die."  
  
"Rinoa hates me... If he's alive, Squall's going to hate me for running away... Then if he dies, everyone is going to hate me for running away... I... I'm starting to feel like I don't even want to fight this anymore, Selphie..." He rested his head against her shoulder. "It's taking so much outta me..."  
  
"We're both gonna make it out of here alive... You sit here, I'm going to help them find the kit."  
  
Zell leaned back against the tree trunk behind him and watched as Selphie joined in the search... Soon his vision began to swirl, even though he wasn't moving... His friends turned into blobs of color, and their voices as they spoke became random noises he couldn't even understand... He tried to raise his hand to rub his eyes, but found he didn't have the strength. It felt like someone had lit a wall of fire around his body, and he turned his head to one side, trying desperately to end the heat, the searing burning heat. He whimpered... The flames were there still, burning his whole body... He allowed himself to slide to the cool grass, resting his face against the wet surface... For a moment the heat was slightly eased but it quickly returned, it was devouring him... Killing him...!!!  
  
Rinoa turned back to check on Zell only to find that he was writhing on the grass, his face flushed with the fever. "Quistis! Help me, quickly!"  
  
The older woman turned and gasped at the sight, quickly rushing to Rinoa's side. "What do you want me to do?"  
  
"I need you to hold him still! I've never tried this before, but it's worth a shot!"  
  
Quistis held Zell in place and watched as Rinoa began to undo the buttons on his shirt.  
  
"I've been reading up about this in some old, old books... Sorcery not used in battle. Healing magic! If I could just remember the chant..." She put her hands on Zell's chest and gasped. "Oh my god, he's burning up..." She then shut her eyes and began to whisper soft words in another language... Her brow began to furrow and a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead... Her chanting grew louder until she was nearly shouting, and then she stopped and took her hands away abruptly, panting. "I can't... Heal him..." She managed. "But I think... His fever should go down a little."  
  
Quistis cast three esunas on Zell, but frowned when he remained in the same condition. "No, it's not working this time... I think we're in trouble, guys... This definitely what Doctor Kadowaki warned me about..." She shook her head and sighed deeply.  
  
"What do you mean, Quistis?" Irvine asked, concern etched all over his normally smiling face. "What did she say?"  
  
"She told me that if we didn't go quickly, we would begin to see a change in Zell... Mind you, she said it would come on slowly, but this isn't slow! She said once he took a turn for the worst, there was no going back without the cure. Esunas aren't going to work on him anymore guys... The rest of the fight is up to Zell."  
  
Rinoa began to cry now, drawing her knees up to her chest. "It's hopeless. Why should we even go on? We can't make it without the medicine or Squall! He was the only one who knew where we were going!"  
  
The members of the group slowly drifted into their own worlds, thinking about what was going to happen now.  
  
'We aren't getting off this island even if Squall does come back and by some miracle we save Zell...' Irvine thought as he held Selphie close to him. 'The Ragnarok is a mess, there's no way it's flying anywhere.' He looked at the brown haired girl in his arms and kissed the top of her head softly. "Seffie...?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"I love you."  
  
She turned slightly so she could look in his eyes, and hers held a sly glint. "I know, Irvy. I love you too."  
  
He took her hand in his and kissed it softly as tears ran from his eyes. 'This is the end, then... At least I'm here with Selphie and my friends.' "I promise you, if we get off this island alive, I'm marrying you."  
  
She bit her bottom lip to sustain her joyus cry and instead settled on throwing her arms around his neck. "Irvy..."  
  
Rinoa, still crying, was thinking to herself as well. 'I hope if Squall died he didn't suffer... I hope he didn't get eaten by those things... This whole mission was hopeless... Maybe the only reason we came here was to fail and die...' She looked at Zell through teary eyes and made a silent apology that she hadn't been stronger for him.  
  
Quistis sat alone outside the group, legs folded under her. 'So this is the last chapter for the heroes of the war against Ultimecia... Funny, but I always thought we would all die old and happy... Not young and miserable.' She lowered her head.  
  
'...The heat... I feel like I'm on fire... I must... Be dying...' Were Zell's last thoughts before a deep blackness overcame him.  
  
*****  
  
A droplet of sweat trickled down Squall's cheek, leaving a cold wet trail in it's wake. His arms trembled as he attemped to pick up Lionheart from the ground where it had fallen, they were weak from hours of battle. He mentally scanned through his remaining stocked magic to see what he had left... He had used his small supply of Ultima on the mother, but she had escaped from him... He had been ready to relax and head back towards the camp when the babies attacked for a second time. He had fought viciously, but in the end they had only brought back the mother. This time she had been more furious than the time before, using the quills down her back and tail, swinging them viciously towards him. One had sliced across his abdomen, doing more damage to his shirt than his skin, but the wound still trickled blood down his torso. After much dodging, he had hacked off the end of the mother's tail, then casted curaga three times, hoping to the gods it would bring the creature down... But instead the mother had turned to face him again, eyes glowing blood red, and it had changed. It knocked Lionheart from his hands and backed him into a tree. Cornered, his life in danger, Squall had nothing left to do, so he casted Flare twice in succession. The sheer proximity of the spell to his hands caused them to blister almost immediately, but he hadn't noticed in his panic to save himself. The mother had gone back into the forest, her face dripping blood on the forest floor as she went.  
  
Now he was alone, and it was beginning to get dark. He made another attempt to lift Lionheart, but this time two of the blisters on his hands popped and he dropped the handle as though it was white hot, hissing in pain. "Damn it..." He whispered, looking at the damage on his hands. "I can't wrap them... And I can't carry Lionheart with my hands in this condition..." He looked back at the gunblade, and sighed. "I'll have to leave it here..." Although reluctant to do so, Squall turned his back on the gunblade and began to walk back towards the camp. It wasn't so hard, someone had left a lamp on near the tents, so he followed the light back into the clearing.  
  
After locating the medical equipment, using a potion on the burns, and wrapping them tightly, he began to put leftover items into a pack he could carry with him when he tried to find where they had gone to. He was about to leave the camp when he noticed the metal case lying on the ground... "I can't believe they left this." He picked it up off the ground, brushing bits of dirt off of it. He slipped it into his pack, then began walking in the direction his teammates had run off in. For a long while he was sure of himself, knowing he was going to make it back to them, but it didn't take long for doubts to come flooding into his mind... If the monsters attacked while he was walking, he would be finished. With no weapon, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold them back.  
  
As if answering his thoughts, a howl came from the woods to his left.  
  
He quietly slipped into the woods at his right and began to backtrack, looking for where he had left Lionheart. He passed creature after creature on the way, making sure to avoid them carefully, and soon he had returned to the place where had left his sword. Lionheart was still there, the blade giving off a bright blue light. He reached down and grasped the handle, ignoring the pain in his hands and the trembling of his arms, and lifted the weapon back up and out of the dirt. The stinging in his hands brought tears into his eyes, but he refused to shed them and continued back to the path, Lioheart in hand.  
  
The howling began again, and he heard something moving through the bushes next to him. He stopped and faced whatever it was, holding Lionheart in the ready position.  
  
One of the babies stepped through the brush, foaming at the mouth angrily, eyeing Lionheart. It had obviously recognized the blade that had done so much damage to it earlier.  
  
"If you want me, come and get me." Squall said in a dangerous voice, swinging the blade once in the baby's direction.  
  
It hissed at him ferally, the fur and quills on it's back standing straight up.  
  
Squall was about to slash at it when a heavy weight hit him in back, sending him sprawling forwards onto his face in the dirt. The same growling now came from behind him, and he scrambled to get back to his feet... Before he could do it, the weight pressed down onto his back, pinning him in the dirt. He struggled, trying to knock the thing off, but it was no use. Soon he stopped fighting it and allowed his forehead to rest in the dirt. 'This is it... I'm sorry, Rinoa... I'm sorry, Zell... Everyone...'  
  
Squall had accepted his fate.  
  
*****  
  
Irvine was keeping watch at the front of the camp when it happened. A sound from inside the woods. He drew Exeter and stood up, narrowing his eyes to try and spot whatever had moved. Off to his left, the plants rustled slightly and he turned, aiming the shotgun in that direction. "I'm not going to miss." He whispered to himself, and when the thing came from the bushes he fired his gun, knowing it wouldn't miss it's mark.  
  
It would have hit, had it not been deflected off of something metallic and black. But, since it was, the bullet sailed harmlessly off to the left and landed on the ground, smoking.  
  
"You trying to kill me, you idiot?"  
  
Irvine stepped back, his eyes wide in shock. "What... What are... How did you..."  
  
Seifer shook his head and sighed, lowering his weapon. "I was sent here to save all your sorry asses about three days ago. You left an obvious trail of ruined tents and signs of battle, so I just followed them. Luckily for all of you I happened to come across someone who needed my help along the way."  
  
Irvine watched in shock as Squall emerged from the brush, aided by Kiros. "Squall!!!"  
  
His cry brought Rinoa from her tent, and her face was tear-streaked. When her eyes landed on her love, however, a giant smile lit up her features. "Squall! I thought you were dead!" She rushed to him and threw her arms around him, not noticing his sharp intake of breath as she did so. "We gave up hope, Squall! We were all just about to make the decision to forget the mission and try to go home..." Then her face darkened. "Zell's... In really bad shape, Squall... We don't think he's going to make it."  
  
"Oh, he will." Seifer spoke up, a scowl on his face. "I didn't come all the way out here so chicken-wuss could die and make this entire thing a waste of my time. Where is he?"  
  
"We put him in the tent and made sure he was kept cool... We're trying to keep his fever down now by using ice... We've managed to stabilize him at one hundred and three..." Rinoa crossed her arms. "Now mind telling me what you're doing here, Seifer?"  
  
"Official business of Esthar." He answered. "Laguna got word from Garden that you guys hadn't reported back to them, so he decided to send me and Seagill here to make sure you were all alive and to help you get that cure for chicken-wuss."  
  
"What's so special about you?" Squall snapped while Rinoa tended to his bleeding hands. "Any particular reason Laguna would tell you to come here and save the people you hate?"  
  
"First off, I don't hate all of you. Only most of you." Seifer knew it was a lie, but he continued anyways. "Second, would it kill you to call Laguna your father?"  
  
"...Whatever." Squall looked away, clenching his teeth with anger.  
  
"And to answer your question, you're speaking to the head of the Esthar Army."  
  
Rinoa looked at him, eyes wide. "Seifer! You mean Laguna let you run the entire army?!"  
  
He nodded, a cocky smirk on his face. "He couldn't deny my greatness."  
  
"That's such good news! I'm so happy for you!" She stopped caring for Squall long enough to throw her arms around Seifer.  
  
The blonde stuck out his tongue at Squall, who offered a death-glare. "I'm glad someone's happy for me... I thought I was the only one."  
  
"Hm. So did I." Kiros remarked, then inclined his head slightly to Rinoa. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine..." She smiled brightly, offering a hug to the tall man as well. "But I'm really worried about Zell... And... The medicine kit..."  
  
Squall motioned to the pack Seifer was now carrying. "It's in there. I went back to the last campsite."  
  
Rinoa sighed deeply, but it wasn't in relief. "I don't even think it's going to matter... You should go and see him now, just in case he doesn't make it through the night... I don't know if he'll be awake when you go in, he hasn't exactly been coherent since he got into this stage of the disease.  
  
Seifer started towards the tent, but Rinoa stopped him by standing in his way. "...What?"  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"To talk to the chicken-wuss. Where else?"  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You can't call him that right now, ok? I don't want him getting stressed out or upset... It might..." She trailed off and looked at the ground. "Just be nice to him for once, ok Seifer?"  
  
"I was planning on it." He continued to the tent and went inside, ignoring Selphie and Quistis' surprised gasps, and he kneeled down next to Zell's feverish form. "Hmm..."  
  
"Seifer, what are... How did you..." Quistis stammered, shocked by the sudden appearance of a man she hadn't seen in a long time.  
  
"I'm here on Esthar business, and I came by ship. Same as you. Though... Yours isn't in great shape, is it?" He looked over his shoulder at the blonde woman and grinned. "Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you all behind. We're going to cure Zell here, and get out of this place."  
  
"I'm sick, too." Selphie said softly, eyes downcast.  
  
"Ok, then we save you both and get going. There's no point in staying here longer than we need to." A groan from Zell brought Seifer's attention back. "Hey."  
  
Zell's eyes opened, but they were dulled with fever and didn't seem to be focusing. However, he recognized the voice. "....Seifer?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me." Seifer shrugged. "Decided to be nice and help you guys out." He grinned again. "So, how are you?"  
  
Zell growled lightly and narrowed his eyes, which cleared slightly and focused on Seifer. "Don't... Make me get up and kick your ass..."  
  
Seifer laughed. "Same old Zell. You get rested, we're going to start moving again soon. I'm guessing the sick people get carried?" The end of the sentence was directed to Quistis, who nodded.  
  
"Usually Squall carries Zell."  
  
"Well, your fearless leader won't be carrying anything, he burned his hands. I'm guessing cowboy carries Selphie, so I'll take Zell."  
  
"You're not going to drop him or anything on purpose, are you?" Selphie asked, her voice low and dangerous. "'Cause he's our friend, and if you hurt him, we'll hurt you."  
  
Seifer held his hands up in a gesture of innocence. "I wasn't planning on dropping him. We may not be friends, but I don't hate the guy!"  
  
"Who are you and what have you done with Seifer?" Quistis looked at him with suspicion. "The Seifer I know would never do something like this for someone else unless he was in it for himself."  
  
"Then I guess you don't know me as well as you thought, Quistis." He got to his feet and left the tent to return to the other group. "I suggest we get moving, and do it soon. Just by checking on him I can tell he ain't got much time left."  
  
"Why do you even care?" Squall snapped, earning himself a soft elbow from Rinoa. "What? He doesn't care... He never cared."  
  
"Contrary to popular belief that I'm an asshole," Seifer began, crossing his arms. "I really do give a shit, or I wouldn't have even bothered showing up. I hate to tell you Squall, since you obviously have remained ignorant," This brought a glare from the brunette. "Rinoa and I have remained friends with one another, and it seems she's the only one out of you all who knows how to forgive and forget."  
  
"People don't change." Was Squall's reply.  
  
"Well you're wrong. I've changed, and I know I have. Just 'cause there's still bits of the old Seifer still doesn't mean I'm still an asshole, or that I hate the world. I learned from my mistakes." He shook his head. "It doesn't go without saying, though, I am still here partially because of myself... I want to prove myself again to the world, so they know I've changed. I'm sick of people hating me because of something that happened three years ago. I'm also doing this because Laguna asked me to... He's the only person besides Rinoa who still trusted me after what happened with Ultimecia... He's done alot for me without asking for anything in return, so it's about time I did something for him."  
  
"Which is...?" Squall questioned.  
  
"Bring you home safe, Squall. He cares about you, even if you don't like him. No amount of your frigid cold bastard attitude is going to change the way he feels. I wish it would. All you do is upset him."  
  
Squall's expression changed, only momentarily, to one of guilt before he changed it back to his usual glare. "...Whatever, Seifer. I never asked you to interfere with my life. It's none of your business."  
  
"Considering the fact I live in the Palace with your father, and he considers me his son, I think I do have business in your life. So as I was saying. We need to get moving soon, maybe even tonight. There's no time to rest and get relaxed. We consulted Doctor Odine before we left, just briefly, and he told us where we should be going to find this flower to make up the cure. We were also sent equipped with radioes... Unfortunately, they won't get any kind of signal in the forest." Seifer shrugged. "So we're on our own."  
  
"Do you know what we're up against?" Rinoa asked him, frowning. "These monsters are inter-bred species..."  
  
"Yeah, I rescued our 'Brave Hero' Squall from two of them. He had fairly given up when I got there."  
  
Squall crossed his arms and looked in the other direction, but his face had reddened slightly.  
  
"Given up?"  
  
"Yeah, well, can't blame him. One was standing on his back, right in spot where he couldn't reach it. It knocked his gunblade out of his hands and out of his reach... And you can't aim magic at something you can't see. They must have been after him because of Zell's scent. Monsters tend to be attracted to the smell of sickness... Makes them hungry. Now, do we know what this 'Pheyttia' flower looks like, so we can attempt to avoid it? Don't need anyone else to get sick."  
  
Rinoa shook her head. "We don't know what it looks like. It's purple, but the book says that it closes itself unless it's infecting someone... So we have no clue what it would look like."  
  
"Ok, I guess we'll just have to be careful then. Now, here's what we're going to do-"  
  
"Who died and made you the boss, Seifer?" Squall snapped, turning back to them. "You'll probably lead us right off a cliff."  
  
Seifer opened his mouth to reply, but Rinoa didn't give him the chance.  
  
"Squall, will you shut up and listen?! He's obviously got a plan, something we're in need of! Give him a chance, ok?"  
  
Squall colored slightly and looked at the ground. "....whatever."  
  
"Anyways." Seifer continued, grinning. "What we'll do is pack everything there up except the tents. I'll carry Zell, that should be no problem. Irvine can carry Selphie. We won't switch, we'll carry them as far as we can. Squall, you take the pack that Seagill has, you can carry that still. Seagill, you'll carry food supplies. Rinoa and Quistis can take anything else I haven't mentioned." He clapped his hands. "Let's get working on that right now, and hopefully we can leave before those ugly monsters finally decide not to be scared of Hyperion."  
  
So they set about getting packed up and getting Selphie and Zell out of the tents. It didn't take long since they had two extra hands, and very soon everyone was ready to go. Quistis was carrying Lionheart and Selphie's Strange Vision, and Rinoa was carrying all the remaining items they had in a pack.  
  
Seifer lifted Zell off the ground onto his back and was surprised at the temperature of the smaller man's body. He cast a small ice spell, followed by esuna, and felt the fever go down a notch. "Ok, we're heading sort of South-West... That should be where the flower is. If we walked without stopping it would take us around a day and a half, so I'm guessing we'll be walking for two to three days. It should take about five to six to get back to the ship... That's a little over a week left before we get off this island and back into civilization. It can't happen soon enough. Just tell me if anyone gets tired, I'll try to help you out. I don't plan on stopping until morning. Night is the most dangerous time to let your guard down here." He made sure he had a good grip on Zell, then he started to walk.  
  
Squall was reluctant to follow, but he bit back his pride and did as he was told. His ribs were aching, and his hands were still bleeding slightly, but he wasn't about to show his weaknesses to the rest of the group... Even if it did seem like he was no longer the leader... As much as Squall hated the position, he hated giving it up for Seifer even more. But he had decided that one more chance was in line for the Ex-Sorceress' Knight. Right now his only hope was that his friends would be saved and they would make it off the island alive.  
  
None of them expected an easy ending.  
  
A/N: Wheeee! Done chapter nine! This is good! I am happy now! And proud of myself! Thanks to my kind lovely reviewers! Again A/N: Sorry about the shitty way I keep uploading these things. I originally HAVE paragraphs, ff.net decides to delete them. And sorry about typoes. I try to correct them as I go. I write these things in wordpad. 


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